Over 135 elected officials and 11 local governments are fed up with climate crisis costs and call for passage of the CA Climate Superfund Act
October 30, 2025
Be Ramona Cornell du Houx
The growing movement throughout California to make Big Oil companies pay for the damage they have inflicted upon communities, now has 135 elected officials and eleven city councils endorsing the Climate Superfund Act from all across the state.
Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Code Blue is urging Governor Gavin Newsom and the legislature to pass the legislation with a sign on letter that 135 elected officials have signed from across the state. Now, local governments have stepped up to ensure their jurisdictions have resolutions backing the enactment of the Superfund Act. They include: Albany, Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco (the city and county), Santa Cruz County, Laguna Beach, Port Hueneme, Oxnard, La Mesa, and San Jose.
“All over the state, extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis have happened, and are increasingly getting worse. At Elected Officials to Protect America we educate on the dangers fossil fuels pose for public health and how they have been exacerbating the climate crisis. There is an enormous body of evidence of the devastation caused by rising emissions, including trillions of dollars in economic costs,” said Dominic Frongillo, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Executive Director/Co-Founder, Fmr. Councilmember and Deputy Supervisor Caroline, New York. “For too long, fossil fuel corporations have reaped enormous profits while lying about the catastrophic risks of their products.”
Just 57 companies are responsible for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
“For decades fossil fuels have fueled the climate crisis while Big Oil has made astronomical profits. These corporations have not listened to health experts, communities or victims who have been suffering from cancers, asthma and extreme weather devastation. State and local budgets are stretched to the brink as climate risks rise, jeopardizing public services, and forcing communities to carry the burden to address climate-related emergencies. That’s why we need to start making Big Oil pay for the damages they’ve wrought with the California Superfund Law,” said Berkeley Council Member Igor A. Tregub, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council Member. “I’m extremely proud of Berkeley’s resolution backing the Superfund Law. We urgently need it to pass into law.”
California communities are under siege by escalating fires, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and other disasters creating an affordability crisis. From 1980–2024, 46 extreme weather and climate disaster events impacted California, with losses exceeding $1 billion each.
Local governments and taxpayers are bearing the immense, mounting costs of rebuilding from climate damages, increased insurance premiums, property taxes, and utility bills. That could all change in California if The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act becomes law. The legislation was introduced by Senator Caroline Menjivar (SB 684) and Assemblymember Dawn Addis (AB 1243) on Feb. 21, 2025.
“Californians have lost their lives and property to the climate crisis, yet the culprits fueling the flames with their fossil fuel products have racked in profits. In 2024, U.S. oil and gas companies saw a surge in profits, with ExxonMobil’s revenue reaching $339.88 billion,” said San Ramon City Council Member Marisol Rubio, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council member. “Many communities like mine are already experiencing financial uncertainty due to rising costs. The state has the power to redirect the financial burden away from its citizens and make Big Oil pay their fair share.”
People across the state understand that they are living in the climate crisis. Last April, over 100,000 Californians signed a petition to hold fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for climate destruction with the Superfund Act.
In January, 2025, the nation watched in horror as firestorms raged across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, destroying over 7,800 structures in the Palisades Fire, and almost 10,500 structures in the Eaton Fire. The apocalyptic nightmare fires tragically claimed 30 lives. The devastation is estimated to cost Californians more than $250 billion.
“The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act is a practical step to make sure the largest fossil fuel companies cover the cost of the damage they knew their products would cause. It brings resources back to the communities carrying the burden and helps fund the work of rebuilding and preparing for what’s ahead,” said Katy Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles Councilmember, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council member. “The Los Angeles Council fully supports the bill with our resolution. I’m grateful to everyone leading the charge to get it passed.”
The earth has already warmed more than half the total amount scientists project will cause catastrophic destabilization. The size and frequency of billion-dollar disasters have become too frequent, and the costs for climate damages are accelerating with every storm.
Californians know it’s up to them to protect their state. The Superfund Act will help.
“Science tells us that the extreme weather we are experiencing is because we are destroying our climate by using fossil fuels as a form of energy. With an administration in DC that promotes fossil fuels as energy security we must take matters into our own hands. Only clean energy is energy security. California’s water supplies are on life support. These conditions represent a clear and present danger,” said Daniel Ramos, Mayor Pro Tem, Adelanto, California, Navy Veteran, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council. “California is the world’s 4th largest economy. But without more climate crisis mitigation programs, our state’s ability to deliver water will be cut by up to 23 percent in 20 years. We must start making Big Oil realize they will have to pay for what they are doing, otherwise they will continue to destroy the planet. We need the Climate Superfund Act.”
Elected officials want to ensure that the people they represent achieve climate justice.
“For decades, Big Oil has profited from their climate crisis carbon pollution, all the while knowing the dangers that their products inflict on innocent people and their communities. To add insult to injury, Californians have been left paying an ever-increasing bill for climate disasters as their taxes and insurance premiums continue to skyrocket,” said Ahmad Zahra, Fullerton City Council Member, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council. “We can no longer rely on support from the federal government to fight the climate crisis or when disaster strikes. California needs the revenue from this legislation to prepare for and recover from the next climate crisis disaster.”
According to a study published in Environmental Research 34,000 people in California died in 2018 from fossil fuel air pollution prematurely.
“Many in my community are forced to breathe in air saturated with fossil fuel particulate pollution because they work on farms. Many become sick and too many have died. Now we also face a federal administration attacking our community with deportations while taking away environmental protections,” said Firebaugh Fmr. Mayor, current Council Member Felipe Perez, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) California Leadership Council. “The California legislature is our only line of defense. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act addresses the financial injustices imposed on taxpayers and working families from climate related disasters by requiring fossil fuel polluters to offset the costs ‘We the People’ have been paying because of the devastation caused by their products.”
The State Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act will:
- Direct CalEPA to complete a climate cost study to quantify total damages to the state (through 2045), caused by past fossil fuel emissions.
- Direct CalEPA to identify responsible parties and assess compensatory fees on the largest fossil fuel polluters proportional to their fossil fuel emissions 1990 through 2024, to address damages quantified in the cost study.
- Fund California’s future. Fees collected will fund projects and programs to mitigate disaster related rate increases for Californians and remedy or prevent climate-related costs and harms. The bill prioritizes labor and job standards and dedicates at least 40 percent of the funds to benefit disadvantaged communities.”
Just after Trump became president, the federal government’s investing in climate crisis measures was halted with executive orders (EO). While many of these programs are in legal battles, too many funding streams for environmental justice communities have been cut. Another Inauguration Day EO: Unleashing American Energy obliterates a critically important calculation the government uses to gauge the real-world costs that the climate crisis is imposing on the U.S. economy. New York passed a climate superfund bill in December 2024, following Vermont.