Climate hawks in every state know the story: Exxon and Big Oil knew about climate change decades ago.Instead of investing in solutions or even just telling the world about the coming danger, Exxon and Big Oil lied.

Instead of coming clean, Big Oil ran a massive PR and lobbying campaign to delay, deny, and derail climate action. And as a direct result of their actions, people have died, communities have been destroyed, and we're almost out of time to avoid even worse impacts from climate chaos.

Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont are all considering laws to make Big Oil pay. The bills all create a “climate superfund” to pay the cost of repairing and adapting to climate damages. It’s similar to the federal Superfund law that compels toxic polluters to pay for cleaning up contaminated sites. California just introduced their bill this week.

But back here in the east, several bills are running into opposition. Vermont’s Senate passed our version through the State Senate 36-2. But when asked if he’d support it, Governor Phil Scott said “probably not.” It’s a similar story in New York, where state legislators passed a Climate Superfund Act last year. But Governor Kathy Hochul has so far kept the legislation out of the state budget. Climate hawks introduced a similar bill last year in Massachusetts, but the measure failed to advance and lawmakers say they need more time “to get people used to the idea.”

We can’t afford to fail or wait for California to catch up. Our states are already paying billions in climate damages that are directly attributable to the pollution from fossil fuel companies. If Big Oil doesn’t pay up, the costs will just fall on the rest of us, draining money from schools, public services, and our own pockets.

Meanwhile, Big Oil is still lying, still lobbying, and still making record profits. In 2023 alone the biggest oil companies in the world made more than $85 billion in profits. They can afford to pay climate damages, and to invest money in climate solutions. But they aren't. In 2023 Big Oil used most of their record profits to pay themselves with dividends and stock buybacks. Exxon alone paid themselves $32 billion.

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