California Bill Forcing Polluters to Pay for Climate Change Disasters Killed by Oil Companies

After a record-breaking year for fossil-fuel industry lobbying, oil companies killed the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, a bill that would have forced the largest carbon polluters to contribute to a fund that would pay for climate disasters, according to a report.

The "polluter pay" bill was one of the most targeted measures during the 2023-24 legislative session, according to reporting by the Guardian. Two companies, oil producer Chevron and Western States Petroleum Association, the largest fossil-fuel trade group in California, shelled out $30 million to lobby against the bill.

Furthermore, just 57 companies are effectively responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, the Guardian reported.

"Accountability is an existential threat to their business model, and their business model is an existential threat to all of us, and that's the bottom line," Meghan Sahli-Wells, the California director of Elected Officials To Protect America, a progressive environmental advocacy group, told the Guardian.

Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found.

Advocates are hopeful the latest wildfire disaster, which has killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes and structures across Los Angeles, will breathe new life into the bill.

"The latest fire shows exactly how Californians are paying for climate destruction, not just with budget dollars, but with their lives, and it shows exactly why we need ... to put the cost back on polluters" Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, added.