Barbara Southard | Support HB106

HB 106 would set up a commission to determine climate damage cost to our state and the best means to recoup costs related to climate damage, including legal action against fossil fuel companies. Big Oil companies have known for decades that burning fossil fuels could lead to "catastrophic" climate change. They lied to us. Now, communities are footing the bill to adapt to and recover from the growing climate damages the fossil fuel industry knowingly caused. And it’s not just damages. It’s also the cost of adaptations to protect against future damages. It’s time polluters who caused this climate crisis pay their fair share of these damages and adaptations. As it stands, taxpayers are on the hook for the entirety of climate bills: past, present and future. Just as the tobacco industry was made to pay for harms they knew their products would cause, so too should climate polluters help citizens with the immense costs accrued from fossil fuel combustion. Here’s an example of some of the estimated cost to NH taxpayers: $1 Billion: That’s the minimum down payment for short-term defense against rising seas in New Hampshire (Center for Climate Integrity). Costs include adaptations to prevent flooding and protect public health, as well as damage caused by extreme weather. The most direct path to recover damages is for elected officials at the city, county or state level to consider taking fossil fuel companies to court for their fair share of climate-related bills. That’s why ?14 cities and counties + the state of Rhode Island? have already sued oil and gas companies for the costs associated with adapting to climate change. Examples Vermont is now first state to require oil companies to foot climate change damage. The funds could be used by the state for such things as upgrading stormwater drainage systems; upgrading roads, bridges and railroads; relocating, elevating or retrofitting sewage treatment plants; and making energy efficient weatherization upgrades to public and private buildings. New York to Fine Fossil Fuel Companies $75 Under New Climate Law New York state will fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate under a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law in December. The New York law requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects meant to repair or avoid future damage from climate change. The biggest emitters of greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 would be subjected to the fines. Conclusion: We don’t have enough money to mitigate the insults of climate change. But if we don’t act to find a way to pay for damages and adaptations, the cost will be much higher, with tragic implications for the economy, public health (including deaths), and unimaginable devastation. Please support this bill to establish a commission to prepare for this crisis. In the words of Ben Franklin: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”