New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act on Thursday. The law would address climate change by imposing a huge tax on fossil fuel companies—they will collectively owe an estimated $3 billion annually—for 25 years, beginning in 2028. The legislation supposes that these taxes will be paid entirely out of the profit margins of the energy companies. In reality, energy users will foot at least part of the bill.
The law opens dramatically by describing climate change as "an immediate, grave threat to the state's communities, environment, and economy," and it argues that investments in infrastructure will be necessary to mitigate its detrimental effects. The law requires companies that extracted fossil fuels or refined crude oil and released at least a billion tons of carbon dioxide between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2018, to bear "a proportionate share" of the cost of this infrastructure.
