Is in over 40 US cities and states sued oil companies In recent years, efforts have been made to recover the costs of climate-related weather disasters and mitigation measures. eleven states passed “Climate Superfund Act” With the same goal.
President Trump calls these actions “Ideologically Driven” And the Justice Department has been asked to fight them. he also wants End federal disaster programs and shift the costs of weather disasters to states. He apparently believes that if we ignore climate change it will go away.
This will not happen. And whatever level of government takes responsibility for uninsured disaster damage, taxpayers ultimately foot the bill.
“A more equitable approach is based onpolluter pays principle” – a sensible idea in international environmental law that says polluters, not their victims, should pay for the harm caused by their products. In the case of fossil fuels, the polluters are producers, consumers, and the governments that subsidize them.
Fossil-energy companies, determined to avoid responsibility, are using the tobacco industry’s shady tactics. In the 1990s, Big Tobacco learned from its studies that smoking causes cancer. Its spokespeople and officials denied it, lied about it under oath and Denied accountability,
But Big Oil knows how it works. State attorneys general sued the largest tobacco companies to recover the public costs of treating smoking-related diseases. In 1998, 52 states and territories reached an agreement in which Big Tobacco agreed to pay billions of dollars annually to the states. Last year, payment was completed approximately $7 billion,
The polluter-pays principle is a less-litigious solution that mobilizes market forces against climate-changing pollution, whose impacts are costly. The federal government currently authorizes approximately 60 billion dollars For annual disaster relief.
Trump has said he wants to do it get rid of femaWhich has very effective programs but is sometimes criticized for taking too long to provide assistance. Instead, Trump and Congress should redesign federal disaster relief by adding user fees to the price of fossil fuels and dedicating the revenue to disaster prevention, response, and recovery.
FEMA will distribute funds in “formula grants” to states based on population and agency. national risk indexStates will qualify for funds by submitting annual mitigation, response, and recovery plans for FEMA approval. This is how the US Department of Energy administers the government State Energy Program,
Allowing states to manage the money would eliminate federal delays. This fee would force fossil fuel consumers to pay for some of the social and environmental harm caused by their pollution. This will help correct the market distortion currently occurring due to exclusion. real cost of fossil fuels From their prices. Instead of external costs, the fee will generate external benefits low inflation For cleaner air and better public health.
How much will the user fee cost and how much revenue will it generate? When Congress considered a price on carbon in 2012, analysts estimated it would yield a fee of $25 per metric ton of carbon. approximately 125 billion dollars annuallyfees may have been added 21 cents for a gallon of gasoline and 1.2 cents for a kilowatt of electricity.This charge will encourage consumers to use energy efficiently and adopt clean technologies such as heat pumps and rooftop solar systems. This will better align the national energy economy with greenhouse gas reduction targets. there is a price on carbon The most efficient way to do it.
Congress could eliminate another market distortion by repealing fossil fuel subsidies. Estimates vary widely, ranging from $10 billion to $52 billion annuallyThe new revenue could be used to help fossil fuel workers and company towns through the country’s energy transition.
FEMA will continue the core functions best provided at the national level, and establish a user-friendly portal to help disaster victims access other relevant government programs. The agency will train and certify state and local emergency managers. It will continue to operate Integrated Public Alert and Warning SystemIt will provide technical assistance in disaster response and recovery to smaller states and communities that lack domestic experts. And it will review and approve annual state plans for prevention, response, and recovery.
Meanwhile, the President can also revive National Climate Assessment – Call it a long-term national climate assessment, if we must, to help communities, insurers and policymakers estimate risks.
The nation cannot deal with increasingly frequent weather disasters without the support of the federal government. Trump’s response is not in line with the American people and their needs. more than this 70 percent Most adults accept that global warming is happening; About Half expect it will threaten their lifestyle,
And they have good reason to worry. more than this 4 million Americans They were displaced from their homes last year due to extreme weather. more than this 40 million Live in river flood plains. an extra 2.5 million people and 1.4 million households The risk of sea level rise is expected to increase over the next 25 years. First Street Foundation warns that climate change could Wipe out $1.4 trillion in US real estate value Over the next three decades.
However, all Americans are suffering because their insurance premiums and tax bills are rising, and also because of climate change. Pressure on inflation is increasing. And, like No place in the US will remain untouched by the increasing physical impacts of global warming,
Trump and the current Congress will not take this approach. He is a loyal humble man of the oil industry. But perhaps the next President and Congress will do so.
William S. BakerHe is the co-editor and contributor to “Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People” and a contributor to Democracy in Hotter Times, named by Nature magazine as one of the five best science books of 2023. He previously served as a senior official in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and is currently the executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, a non-partisan climate policy think tank unaffiliated with the White House.
