In First Action of 119th Congress, Van Hollen Reintroduces Legislation to Make Polluters Pay for Fueling Climate Change
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), in his first legislative action of the 119th Congress, reintroduced the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, legislation to require the biggest polluters to begin paying their fair share to confront the climate crisis. The Senators’ legislation requires the largest U.S.-based fossil fuel extractors and oil refiners and foreign-owned companies doing business in the U.S. to pay into a $1 trillion Polluters Pay Climate Fund, with their contributions based on a percentage of their global emissions. The Fund would then be used to finance a wide range of efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change. Proposals to make polluters pay for their role in driving the climate crisis are gaining momentum in states across the country, with legislation mirroring Senator Van Hollen’s bill becoming law in Vermont and New York last year. In Maryland, the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act, legislation similar to the Senator’s Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, was introduced in the state legislature last year and is expected to be refiled in the 2025 legislative session, beginning this week.
This bill is cosponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). U.S. Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.) plan to reintroduce companion legislation in the U.S. House later this year.
“In Maryland and across the country, we are witnessing the accelerating costs of climate change – from rising seas to devastating flooding to more powerful hurricanes – and for too long American taxpayers have been footing the bill. It’s time that the biggest companies fueling the climate crisis address the harm they have caused. This legislation puts a simple but very powerful principle into action: big polluters should pay to clean up the mess they have made, and those who have polluted the most should pay the most,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“For more than 60 years, the fossil fuel industry has known about its significant role in driving the climate crisis. Yet, it has largely failed to take meaningful action to mitigate the harmful impacts of its practices on the environment and public health,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler. “Instead, the burden of addressing the destructive effects of the climate crisis has fallen unfairly on American taxpayers. It’s long overdue for our nation to put the health and well-being of our communities above the interests of the fossil fuel industry. That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act alongside Senator Van Hollen and Representative Chu—to ensure the fossil fuel industry is held accountable for the damage it has caused and to empower the American people to confront this crisis directly.”
“Every year, wildfires, historic droughts, unprecedented winter storms, and other extreme weather disasters continue devastating communities in my district and around the country,” said Rep. Chu. “Fossil fuel corporations responsible for worsening the climate crisis continue reaping massive profits while assuming none of the cost for the harmful emissions they produce, leaving taxpayers on the hook to pay the price. It’s far past time for these corporations to pay their fair share and help fund our work to address the climate catastrophe they helped create, so we’re introducing the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act to hold them accountable.”
The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is endorsed by a wide range of conservation and environmental justice organizations: 198 Methods; 350.org and 350 Bay Area Action, 350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley, 350 Mass, 350 Seattle, and 350Brooklyn; Action for the Climate Emergency; Alliance of Maine Health Professionals for Climate Action; Better Future Project; Bold Alliance; California Environmental Voters; CASA; Center for Biological Diversity; Center for Popular Democracy / CPDAction; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Clean Water Action; Climate Accountability Institute; Climate Action California; Climate Hawks Vote; Climate Policy Equity Center; Concerned Health Professionals of PA; Earthjustice; Elders Climate Action (ECA) Northern California (NorCal) Chapter; Elders Climate Action (ECA) Southern California (SoCal) Chapter; Environmental Advocates NY; Evergreen Action; Food & Water Watch; Gen-Z for Change; Greenpeace USA; Human Impact Partners; League of Conservation Voters and Maine Conservation Voters, NC League of Conservation Voters, and New Jersey League of Conservation Voters; MoveOn; New York Communities for Change; NY Public Interest Research Group; Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund (OEC Action Fund); Oil and Gas Action Network; Oxfam America; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine; San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility; Sierra Club; South Seattle Climate Action Network; Sunrise Movement; Surfrider Foundation; Sustainable Mill Valley; Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility; The Rachel Carson Council; Third Act and Third Act Maryland, Third Act Upstate New York, and Third Act Virginia; Union of Concerned Scientists; Vermont Natural Resources Council; Vermont Public Interest Research Group; Vessel Project of Louisiana; Voices for Progress; Waterkeeper Alliance; Working Families Party; and Zero Hour.
Background on the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act
For over 60 years, fossil fuel companies have been fully aware of – and profited from – their industry’s contributions to climate change, and despite this knowledge took little to no action to remediate the negative environmental and human health impacts of their business practices. Now, climate change related extreme weather events cost the United States at least $150 billion each year and these impacts are disproportionately borne by underserved and overburdened communities.
The concept of Polluters Pay is simple: those most responsible for creating the climate crisis should pay the most to address its harmful impacts. Modeled after the Superfund law, the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would allow the U.S. to generate significant revenue – $1 trillion – to address our climate challenges by turning to the industry that caused them. The legislation requires the largest polluters to pay into a Polluters Pay Fund, contributing based on a proportion of the companies’ prior emissions.
Using peer-reviewed “carbon attribution” research, it is possible to definitively attribute carbon in the atmosphere to specific companies. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would assess companies based on their global carbon dioxide emissions and authorizes the Treasury Department to charge the largest polluters in proportion to their past carbon emissions, in excess of 1 billion metric tons – resulting in the top polluters contributing $100 billion each year for 10 years to the Fund. The legislation applies to any fossil fuel extractor or refiner that is U.S.-based, or is a foreign company engaged in trade or business in the U.S., and is responsible for generating over 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2000-2023.
The fund would be used to combat the impacts of climate change in a variety of ways, such as rebuilding and upgrading infrastructure, cleaning up the impacts of pollution in frontline communities, and providing climate-related disaster assistance. Forty percent of the fund would be set aside for investments that benefit environmental justice communities.
No Impact on Energy Costs: The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would not raise costs for consumers. The market price of gasoline is determined by supply and demand. The fund would not affect the demand for gasoline, which is based on consumer preferences and other factors like the overall state of the economy. The fund would also not affect the supply of gasoline. The tax assessment is based on past, not current, activity, so it does not impact the ongoing costs of production. It is charged only to those with the highest past production, leaving some companies that are not subject to the assessment to act as price competitors and rivals for market share. Collusion by covered companies to raise prices would be illegal under antitrust laws.
No Impact on State and Local Climate Lawsuits and Climate Superfunds: The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is not a substitute for or designed to preempt local- or state-level climate lawsuits seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for deception about the causes and consequences of climate change. Nor does it preempt state-level climate superfund laws aimed at recouping damages from climate change.
The full text of the bill is available here. A two-pager on the bill is available here.
“Look at any headline from 2024 – catastrophic floods, relentless wildfires, devastating storms – and you'll see why Americans are fed up with paying for Big Oil's damage while they rake in billions. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act kicks off 2025 with a wake-up call: fossil fuel giants must invest $1 trillion to repair the damage they caused. At least two-thirds of voters want to see these companies finally pay their fair share – the time for accountability is now,” said Cassidy DiPaola, Spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign.
“This bill is based on a simple concept: those most responsible for creating the climate crisis should pay the most to address its harmful impacts. This is a concept we all learn as children and there is no reason we should not apply this lesson to some of the most profitable companies in human history. Communities have suffered because of the reckless business practices of the fossil fuel industry. It’s long overdue for the fossil fuel industry to pay their fair share,” said Quentin Scott, Federal Policy Director for CCAN Action Fund.
“This bill is exactly what is needed to make sure average citizens are not the ones paying the extraordinary costs associated with adapting and recovering from the escalating impacts of the climate crisis,” said Brittany Baker, Maryland Director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “We appreciate Senator Van Hollen’s leadership on this concept and are thrilled that this bill does not preempt state action.”
“The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is a major step forward to hold Big Polluters accountable and protect our communities and future generations from the climate crisis,” said Leah Donahey, Senior Federal Advocacy Campaigns Director, League of Conservation Voters. “This legislation will ensure that the biggest polluters, not taxpayers, pay for the harm they are doing to our communities, our health, and our environment. Polluters have known for decades that fossil fuels worsens the climate crisis, but have continued to pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink. We applaud Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Nadler, and Congresswoman Chu for their leadership holding polluters accountable and protecting communities experiencing the devastating impacts of fossil-fueled extreme weather and environmental injustice, especially communities of color and communities with low wealth that have been harmed most.”
“Communities are suffering from the consequences of the actions of Big Oil and Gas corporate polluters, in the form of daily pollution from oil and gas as well as damage caused by worsening extreme weather driven by climate change. We cannot continue to expect taxpayers to bear the biggest burden in rebuilding and repairing the damage caused by the business activities of multi-billion dollar companies,” said Mahyar Sorour, Sierra Club’s Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy. “We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Nadler and Congresswoman Chu in ensuring fossil fuel companies do their part to clean up the messes they have caused. We hope this is just the beginning of making polluters pay.”
“Climate change is the defining public health crisis of our time—fueling respiratory diseases, heat-related deaths, and displacement in communities already burdened by systemic inequities,” said Clara Long, Director of Policy and Organizing at Human Impact Partners, “The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act ensures that those most responsible for driving this crisis are held accountable, shifting the cost of climate impacts from the public to the polluters. By investing in communities on the frontlines, we can build resilience, prevent further harm, and advance the health and well-being of all.”
“We applaud the leadership of Senator Van Hollen, Representative Nadler and Representative Chu for introducing the Polluters Pay Climate Act of 2025. It is time for fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage they have done to our communities from decades of climate pollution. By directing revenue from fossil fuel companies to help communities dealing with the impacts of wildfires, floods, droughts, and other climate change driven extreme weather events, we can start to right historic harms caused by the fossil fuel industry,” said Jim Walsh, Policy Director, Food & Water Watch.
“Living on the frontlines of climate change in Sulphur, LA, a community surrounded by industrial pollution and has consequently been devastated several times by climate induced disasters, I see firsthand how the pollution from these industries harms our families and our future. It’s time for these corporations to take responsibility for the damage they’ve done. They must pay for their environmental crimes, not only to hold them accountable but to ensure our community can thrive with clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment for our children,” said Roishetta Ozane- Founder/CEO Vessel Project of Louisiana.
“Air pollution from the fossil fuel industry has caused injury and disease in many people. And the greatest threat, the release of greenhouse gasses, is causing environmental damage and public health concerns around the world,” said Barbara Brandom, MD (retired), Steering Committee Member for the Concerned Health Professionals of PA. “People who had nothing to do with the sources of this pollution and subsequent environmental threats should not suffer more. The polluters must pay reparations to foster resilience to the damages caused by climate change.”
“Vermont passed a Climate Superfund law last year, because lawmakers understood that the companies causing climate disasters need to help pay to clean up the mess,” said Lauren Hierl, Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “Vermonters continue to be devastated by flooding and other climate disasters. We know that small, rural communities around the country can't bear these burdens alone, so we're excited to see the introduction of the federal Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act.”
“While fossil fuel companies continue to reap billions of dollars in profit from pumping their fuel and plastics into our national economy, they also continue to pay nothing for the damage they sow upon our communities,” said Michael Richardson, Co-facilitator of Third Act - Upstate New York. “The science is clear: the production and burning of fossil fuel is the primary cause of climate disruption. A reckoning of this inequity is long overdue. Polluters must no longer be allowed to make exorbitant profits by not paying for the destructive consequences.”
“For far too long, fossil fuel CEOs have raked in record profits, while working class families pay the price. They profit while our homes burn, our bridges get washed away, and extreme heat threatens our lives,” said Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director of Sunrise Movement. “The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is an essential step to making sure that massive corporations like Exxon are footing the bill for climate impacts, not everyday people.”
“Fossil fuel companies continue to invest a pittance in clean energy technologies, doubling down and cashing in on the climate chaos they deliberately created. Meanwhile millions of the world’s most marginalized people around the world are paying the ultimate price with their lives, their homes, or their livelihoods,” said Ashfaq Khalfan, Climate Justice Director at Oxfam America. “The biggest fossil fuel polluters will be responsible for trillions of dollars in climate harms by 2050. They have the funds to pay for the damages - just 45 energy corporations raked in on average $237 billion every year in windfall profits in 2021 and 2022. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025 is an important step to make sure that rich polluters pay to fix the damage. It will also prevent carbon pollution by sending a clear signal to companies that the more they pollute, the more they will pay.”
“We are deeply grateful to the Vermont congressional delegation, Sen Van Hollen, and everyone who made the reintroduction of the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act possible,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, Climate & Energy Program Director at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “The fossil fuel companies that knowingly created the climate crisis must be required to pay their fair share of the staggering costs that the crisis is creating for the rest of us. Americans simply cannot afford to shoulder that immense financial burden on their own - nor should they have to.”
“As a public health nurse working with vulnerable communities across Texas, I witness firsthand how fossil fuel pollution endangers public health, disproportionately impacting already overburdened low-income families and communities of color. The emissions from oil and gas operations increase respiratory and cardiovascular issues, exacerbating health disparities and inequities. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is a critical step toward addressing these injustices, ensuring cleaner air, and fostering healthier, more resilient communities across our state,” said Adelita G Cantu, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of the Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility.
“As a pediatrician who cared for thousands of Maine's children for nearly four decades, I’ve seen firsthand how air pollution from burning fossil fuels increases prematurity rates, exacerbates asthma, damages developing lungs, and puts our most vulnerable at risk. Children are especially sensitive to the harmful pollutants released by oil and gas, yet they have no voice in the decisions that harm their future. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is essential legislation to protect their health, hold fossil fuel companies accountable, and ensure a safer, cleaner environment for the next generation,” said Syd Sewall, MD, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Maine.
Zanagee Artis, Executive Director of Zero Hour, said, “For over sixty years, the oil and gas sector has known about the threats that their products pose to life on earth. Big Oil is still fighting to entrench oil and gas in our energy system, and the youngest generations of people on earth could inherit a world devastated by catastrophic climate change as a result. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025 is accountability for an industry that has escaped it for far too long. Every member of Congress who wants a livable planet should fight to pass this bill.”
“Why should taxpayers have to pay the bill when Exxon heats the climate? Big Oil’s shareholders made out big time from climate destruction; it’s time for them to face their responsibilities and pay their fair share,” said Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act and Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College.
“It's high time that fossil fuel polluters stop forcing working families to shoulder the costs of climate change while they continue to profit off polluting our air and water. They are lining their pockets at the expense of our lives. The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that oil and gas extraction and use are harming our kids and communities and changing the climate. These harms hurt all of us, but hurt low income communities and communities of color the most. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act requires polluters to start taking responsibility for these harms,” said Sara Zimmerman, Executive Director at the Climate Equity Policy Center.
“It’s way past time for polluters to clean up the disastrous damage they’ve done to our health, wildlife and the climate,” said Ben Goloff, Senior Climate Campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Enough of their raking in record profits at the public’s expense. It’s just basic fairness to hold polluters, not taxpayers, accountable for the cleanup bill.”
“The health impacts of fossil fuels are undeniable and devastating. From asthma to heart disease, the pollution caused by burning oil, coal, and gas fuels a public health crisis that burdens families and communities across the country. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is critical legislation that holds the fossil fuel industry accountable for the harm they cause and ensures we can invest in healthier, cleaner alternatives. This is not just a climate issue; it’s a matter of life and health for millions of Americans,” said Daniel Oppenheim, MD, Co-Chair of the Alliance of Maine Health Professionals for Climate Action.
“Last year, amid record-breaking global temperatures, climate disasters like extreme heat, stronger hurricanes, extreme flooding, and devastating wildfires wreaked damage across the country, with environmental racism compounding the harm for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. Meanwhile, major oil, gas, and coal corporations continued to rake in enormous profits. Making these large fossil fuel polluters fund an equitable federal response to climate change is an important step toward holding them accountable for their reckless and destructive actions. Importantly, the proposed legislation also preserves the rights of state and local governments to investigate climate deception and recover the costs of climate adaptation and resilience,” said Kathy Mulvey, Climate Accountability Campaign Director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Nadler, and Congresswoman Chu’s Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is a testament to their leadership in holding fossil fuel giants accountable for the climate crisis. Following landmark Superfund laws in New York and Vermont, this federal effort underscores the power of states to lead the way in making polluters—not taxpayers—fund climate resilience. Together, these actions set a bold precedent for a just and sustainable path forward for the nation,” said Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director at Environmental Advocates NY.
“Fossil fuel companies have known since the 1950s that their emissions are contributing to climate change and adversely impacting our health. As these same corporations report record profits at the expense of the American people, it is past time to hold them accountable. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act just does that by prioritizing frontline communities and working towards equitable outcomes that safeguard a healthy environment for all,” said Brian Campbell, PhD, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
“It is high time for the fossil fuel industry to pay for the enormous damage it has done to our environment, our communities and our planet,” said Nora Privitera, Chair of the Federal Team at 350 Bay Area Action
“The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2024 is a bold step toward finally holding Big Oil accountable for their role in fueling the climate crisis. For over 60 years, corporate polluters have knowingly damaged our planet and endangered frontline communities. Big Oil has bent over backwards to stall climate action and protect their profits, saddling the American people with a crisis that is costing us billions every year,” said Mattea Mrkusic, Senior Policy Lead for Energy Transition at Evergreen Action. “This bill would begin to right those wrongs by forcing the top polluters to pay into the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, proportional to the climate pollution they’re responsible for. The Fund will help address the impacts of the climate crisis and notably, will set aside 40 percent for investments that will benefit environmental justice communities. It’s time to make polluters pay for the crisis they largely created—and the majority of Americans agree.”
“The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is a common-sense solution to long-standing injustice. For decades, fossil fuel companies have knowingly contributed to the climate crisis, raking in record profits while passing the costs of their pollution onto communities, taxpayers, and future generations,” said Aaron McCall, Federal Advocacy Coordinator, California Environmental Voters. “This bill shifts the burden back to where it belongs – onto the companies most responsible for the climate impacts we’re witnessing. By allocating 40% of the fund to those who have been disproportionately harmed by pollution and the climate crisis, we can begin to right the wrongs of the past.”
“Waterkeeper Alliance applauds the introduction of The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025. This legislation is an important step in addressing the root causes of the climate emergency by holding fossil fuel corporations accountable,” said Marc Yaggi, CEO of Waterkeeper Alliance. “By requiring these corporations to pay for their environmental impact instead of passing the burden onto our communities, we can unlock crucial investment to protect clean water for all and strengthen our resilience against the worst impacts of climate change.”