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Companies responsible for carbon emissions build-up will be required to pay for damages caused by extreme, climate change-driven weather events under a new law signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday.

The Climate Change Superfund Act focuses specifically on fossil fuel pollution since 2000, which is a main cause of recent extreme weather events in the state like flooding and wildfires. Under the new law, major polluters will have to pay the state about $3 billion over the course of the next 25 years, The New York Times reported.

NYT reported that the funds generated by the law will also go toward various environmental efforts across the state, including restoring wetlands, improving drainage systems and developing health programs to treat conditions caused by climate change.

In Central New York, some major environmental concerns include the pollution of Lake Onondaga – one of the most polluted lakes in the country as a result of Honeywell International Inc.’s decades-long mercury disposal into it – and effects of nearby wildfires.

Last year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reported that oil and gas companies generated 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and just under 15 million metric tons of methane across the state.

With the bill’s signing, the financial burden on taxpayers of mitigating weather damage will be lightened.

Many companies, including the National Fuel Gas Company, the New York Farm Bureau and the National Mining Association asked Hochul to veto the bill, questioning its constitutionality and whether a state law can establish national policy, according to NYT.

With the legislation now passed, the DEC is set to begin billing companies in 2028.

Published on December 27, 2024 at 5:19 pm

Contact Duncan: digreen@syr.edu