Major fossil fuel companies will have to pay fees to help New York combat the effects Climate change Under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The new law requires companies responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions to pay money into a government fund for infrastructure projects aimed at repairing or avoiding future damage from climate change.
Lawmakers approved the bill earlier this year to force major oil and gas companies to contribute to the cost of repairs after extreme weather events and resiliency projects such as restoring coastal wetlands and upgrading roads, bridges and drainage systems.
“The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law, and New York has fired a shot that will be heard around the world: The companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat who sponsored the Climate Change Superfund Act. Invoice.
“The planet’s biggest climate polluters bear a unique responsibility for creating the climate crisis, and they must pay their fair share to help ordinary New Yorkers deal with the consequences,” Krueger said.
The countries that emit the largest greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 will be subject to fines.
The law will not start penalizing companies immediately. Instead, the state should set rules on how to identify responsible parties, notify companies of fines and create a system for determining which infrastructure projects will be financed by the fund. Legal challenges are expected.
“This type of legislation represents nothing more than punitive new tariffs on American energy, and we are evaluating our options moving forward,” the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s largest lobbying group, said in a statement.
New York’s governor signed the measure months after Vermont put in place Similar law In his place.
