TRENTON, N.J. — A newly proposed bill, titled the “Climate Superfund Act,” has been introduced to the New Jersey Legislature, aiming to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for damages resulting from climate change. The bill seeks to establish liability for certain companies based on their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and direct compensatory payments to climate adaptation and resilience projects.
Under the act, fossil fuel companies deemed responsible for emitting more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases between January 1, 1995, and the bill’s enactment date would be considered “responsible parties.” The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would oversee the identification of these companies and the calculation of their proportional responsibility for damages caused to the state and its residents.
The bill mandates that the State Treasurer, within two years of the bill’s passage, prepare an assessment quantifying the damages New Jersey has suffered due to greenhouse gas emissions since 1995. Based on this assessment, each identified company would be required to make payments equal to its share of the damages.
Funds collected through the program would be deposited into the “Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund,” managed by the DEP.
These funds would be distributed as grants for climate change adaptation and resilience projects, which aim to mitigate the ongoing effects of climate change in the state. The DEP would also be authorized to use some of the funds for administering the program.
The bill includes provisions for joint and several liability for companies within the same corporate structure, meaning parent companies and subsidiaries would share responsibility for compensatory payments. The DEP would issue annual reports on the program, starting five years after the bill is enacted.
The DEP has up to two years to develop regulations and guidelines to implement the bill’s provisions after the Treasurer submits the damage assessment.