By Donald Gilpin
Princeton Council voted unanimously last week to support the New Jersey Climate Superfund Act, a bill currently pending in the state legislature that would hold major fossil fuel companies financially responsible for expenses resulting from climate change.
Princeton is one of 33 municipalities that had supported the resolution as of Monday, May 19. Two states, Vermont and New York, have passed similar resolutions, and supporters of the proposal are seeking to make New Jersey the third.
The bill calls for “responsible parties,” large fossil fuel companies that are responsible for more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 1944, to be held liable for costs of funding “climate change adaptation and resilience projects instead of placing the burden on New Jersey taxpayers.”
The state treasurer would be authorized to determine the cost of these greenhouse emissions — on public health, natural resources, biodiversity, agriculture, economic development, flood preparedness and safety, and housing. A Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program would be established by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to collect payment from responsible parties and to disburse those funds for “climate change adaptation and resilience projects.”
Princeton Councilman Brian McDonald, who is the Council liaison to the Princeton Environmental Commission, noted that such a cost recovery program could be a potential source of funding for a number of Princeton’s priorities, including climate resilience initiatives, tree replacement and maintenance, and more.
“We have to do a better job managing stormwater, and this is a potential future source of funding for some of the infrastructure needs associated with increased volumes of stormwater,” he said. “Also, in heavy storms, we can lose trees in the public right-of-way, and this might be a source of funds to replace storm-damaged and storm-felled trees.”
Any New Jersey municipality in need of climate adaptation and resilience would be able to apply for funds raised by the proposed bill, according to the Resolution, which points out that the state has experienced deaths and billions of dollars in losses from storms, like Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Ida in 2021, linked to climate change.
From 1980-2024, there were 74 confirmed weather/climate disaster events in New Jersey, with losses exceeding $1 billion each, according to the Resolution, which adds, “These costs do not include many others associated with climate change.”
The Resolution goes on to cite numerous effects of climate change on New Jersey municipalities, also pointing out that extreme climate events cost the U.S. $150 billion each year, according to a 2023 report, excluding costs related to loss of life, health care, and ecosystem damage.
The Resolution further notes that for more than 50 years fossil fuel companies have known about the direct connection between fossil fuels and global warming and “chose to deceive the public about climate science, downplay and distort the evidence of climate change, engage in a decades-long campaign against climate action, fund counterfeit science, and manufacture uncertainty with no scientific basis.”
The Resolution adds that the top 25 fossil fuel companies “have continually earned enormous profits and have the ability to pay for their share in damages and remain extremely profitable.”
McDonald stated that Princeton Council “believes that this is a good thing and encourages the state Assembly, Senate, and government to take action and pass it.” He added that the bill has “the strong support of most, if not all, of the Democratic candidates for governor.”
At a recent gubernatorial debate sponsored by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), Princeton Council President Mia Sacks, who was moderating the proceedings, asked the Democratic candidates if they would support the NJ Climate Superfund Act. The four candidates who were present, Ras Baraka, Stephen Fulop, Sean Spiller, and Steve Sweeney, all said “yes.”