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Legislators are discussing a bill that would require large companies to pay for environmental harm they caused by fossil fuel emissions. That money would make up what lawmakers are calling a climate superfund to help pay for natural disaster recovery in Vermont.
It has become obvious to most Vermonters, said Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, one of the sponsors of the bill, S.259, that fossil fuel companies continued to push for the use of their energy products well after they knew the damage that it would cause to the climate and tried to bury the research for as long as they could.
“You make a mess, you clean it up,” said Johanna Miller, energy and climate program director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “This is all about ensuring that the largest fossil fuel companies — who have long known for decades the harm they caused — are held accountable.”
The bill, which has 20 sponsors in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, would trigger an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions of companies engaged in fossil fuel extraction or refinement from Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec, 31, 2019. Any companies whose products were responsible for the release of more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses during those years would be handed a fine.
To figure out each payment demand, the state would look at how much a given company contributed to greenhouse gas emissions during that 20-year period. The state would also determine the total cost to Vermont from fossil fuel industry emissions over that time, and then ask the company to pay for a matching percentage.
So, if a company contributed 10% of the total emissions calculated under the bill, it would be asked to give the superfund an amount equaling 10% of the costs to Vermont.
The fund would be managed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, which would use a federal Environmental Protection Agency tool to calculate emissions.
Vermont has suffered from 19 climate-related disasters since 2017, said Miller, costing Vermonters significantly.
One example is the catastrophic flooding Vermont faced last year, forcing residents out of their homes and costing them thousands in damages.
“This is going to impact our health, our tourism, our scenic beauty, not to mention our homes and overall economy,” Ram Hinsdale said.
Those costs extend to recovery efforts by government groups.
“For just our program, we’re looking at over $10 million just to help landowners,” said Bob Thompson, state conservation engineer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Vermont.
The bill would put into effect a master plan for the use of the superfund, legislative counsel Michael O’Grady said in a judiciary committee meeting Feb. 8.
The fund would pay for infrastructure projects “designed to avoid, moderate, repair or adapt to negative impacts caused by climate change and to assist communities, households and businesses in preparing for future climate-change-driven disruptions,” according to the bill.
Examples of funded infrastructure projects would be stormwater drainage upgrades, sturdier roads and bridges and renovated sewage treatment plants — all of which may help flooding victims.
Supporters hope the superfund would help landowners pay for their own recovery as well as climate restoration as a whole.
Stephanie Brackin, a spokesperson for the Agency of Natural Resources, said the agency will be monitoring the bill as it evolves.