Governor Newsom, Californians have been calling on you to support a Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, a bill that 70% of your constituents support. One hundred elected officials from 25 counties across California have signed a letter urging you to support this legislation. We’ve sent you thousands of letters and calls, but have heard nothing back. Are you listening to us?
The consequences of the climate crisis are not abstract or impending; they are ravaging communities right now. Last November, I watched my hometown of Camarillo become engulfed in flames from my kitchen window, displacing many of my friends and family. In January, the nation watched Los Angeles burn in an unprecedented series of devastating wildfires. While recovery efforts have addressed the short-term impacts, months later, displaced communities are stuck wondering how they will get justice for the loss of their homes, valuables, and loved ones. But a central question remains: who will pay for all of this?
The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (SB 684/AB 1243) is a common-sense solution to the affordability and climate crises unfolding today. This bill would provide critical relief to California taxpayers and our state, local, and tribal budgets by shifting the financial burden to those responsible for climate disasters. By requiring the largest polluters to pay a fee proportional to their emissions into a superfund, we’d have more funding available for home hardening, disaster relief, first responder preparedness, green jobs, and much more, with 40% of the funding being allocated to communities hit hardest by pollution and climate disasters. It’s a simple concept, one that we often teach children: if you’re responsible for making a mess, it’s your responsibility to clean it up.
You’ve taken the first step in recognizing that the oil industry has been deceiving all of us for a long time, declaring that, “This climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis; for decades and decades, the oil industry has been playing each and every one of us for fools.” Now you have the opportunity to take the much-needed next step — holding these polluters accountable.
Conservative estimates project that the cost of future climate-related disasters will increase substantially, with California facing an estimated $113 billion per year by 2050. However, we’re facing over $250 billion in property damages, cleanup, insurance, and rebuilding costs from the L.A. fires alone, and the total isn’t capped there. Communities are experiencing detrimental climate health impacts, exacerbating the cost of healthcare annually. Meanwhile, the largest fossil fuel companies have consistently worsened the climate crisis at hand. They’ve known about the harms their products cause to public health and the environment since the 1950s, and continued to profit off the backs of your constituents regardless.
The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act is an opportunity to manage the decline of the fossil fuel industry and facilitate a just transition that protects workers, creates safer, high-paying jobs, and doesn’t leave anyone behind. The fossil fuel industry knows it’s close to hitting the bottom of the barrel, but fails to ensure its workers are secured and protected when the day comes that there is nothing left to drill. By allocating funds to the development of green jobs, this legislation will manage the energy transition in a way that protects workers, jobs, and communities — not industry profits.
The recent closures of the Valero and Phillips 66 refineries are prime examples of what happens when operators don’t prioritize their workers and aren’t held accountable. The loss of these jobs is not due to climate policy, but rather due to the mismanagement and deceit of the operators. For 16 years, Valero knowingly violated climate, health, and safety laws, emitting 8,400 tons of cancerous chemicals and skipping routine safety checks, until caught by inspectors, resulting in an $82 million fine. Phillips 66 knowingly dumped 790,000 gallons of industrial wastewater into L.A. sewers with flammable, explosive substances for years, resulting in an indictment on federal charges with millions in fines.
Rather than investing in aging refineries, fossil fuel giants have poured billions into stock buybacks, increased dividends for investors, and handed out executive bonuses. In 2024, Valero returned $4.3 billion in profits to shareholders. In under three years, Phillips 66 paid out over $14 billion. These companies have zero interest in protecting their workers and instead focus on lining the wallets of their shareholders and executives. To echo your Newsom’s quote above, this industry has been playing all of us for fools.
The momentum and support behind this bill are loud, growing, and determined. Many cities and counties across the state have voted to formally support the bill, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Albany, and most recently, the city of Port Hueneme. Local leaders across the state are standing up and calling on you to take action against corporate polluters. We invite you to stand up with us.
As a young woman, sister, daughter, and future attorney, I feel a responsibility to help protect the future of my generation and generations to come. I feel a responsibility to fight for justice and to stand up when justice is being challenged. Governor Newsom, I know you feel the same. I have seen you stand up for our immigrant communities, my family members, to fight against the injustices being perpetrated by the federal government. We need this same energy when it comes to the injustices being perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry.
So, Governor Newsom, it is time to take action. It is time to stand firm against corporations and their exploitative practices. It is time to put people before profit. It is time to make polluters pay.
Melissa Muñoz is a Ventura County native, a second-year Oxnard College student majoring in Sociology, a youth leader with Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG), and an aspiring environmental protection litigator.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Guest column: A call for Newsom’s support of Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act
Reporting by Melissa Muñoz / Ventura County Star
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