115-26 Resolution Supporting the Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act.pdf

115-26 March 24, 2026 RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE PASSAGE OF THE POLLUTERS PAY TO MAKE NEW JERSEY MORE AFFORDABLE ACT WHEREAS, the proposed "Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act" (S2338/A3735), pending before the New Jersey Legislature would impose liability on large fossil fuel companies for certain climate change related damages they caused instead of imposing all those costs on New Jersey taxpayers; and WHEREAS, New Jersey has experienced deaths and billions of dollars in losses from storms linked to climate change. Hurricane Sandy costs are estimated to be over $29 billion, along with 38 deaths, while Hurricane Ida caused about $2 billion in costs and 30 deaths. From 1980–2024 (as of November 1, 2024), there have been 74 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect New Jersey. These costs do not include many others associated with climate change listed below; and WHEREAS, total global GDP today is about $100 trillion and “climate change is on track to cost the global economy $38 trillion every year in damages within the next 25 years;” and WHEREAS, a 2023 report found that extreme climate events cost the U.S. $150 billion each year, excluding costs related to loss of life, healthcare, and ecosystem damage. The 2024 catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina alone likely caused at least a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs; and WHEREAS, the effects of climate change on New Jersey municipalities include but are not limited to increases in the costs of property insurance, flooding (including clean ups, property buyouts and prevention), public health care costs (costs from injuries, heat, dealing with vector borne diseases and insurance), repair to critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, sewer systems and wastewater management, installing/maintaining air conditioning in schools, costs of dealing with forest fires and resulting property damages, increased costs of water purification from droughts or floods, seawall and other protections against ocean flooding, raising roads to prevent sunny-day flooding, potential lawsuits from residents, loss of tax revenue from destroyed properties, salt water invasion of aquifers, algal blooms, loss of recreation/tourism revenue, dealing with insect and other infestations; and WHEREAS, more than

ts, loss of tax revenue from destroyed properties, salt water invasion of aquifers, algal blooms, loss of recreation/tourism revenue, dealing with insect and other infestations; and WHEREAS, more than 50 years ago, scientists at major fossil fuel companies knew of the direct link between fossil fuels and global warming and reported their findings to corporate executives, who 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; and WHEREAS, the top 25 oil and gas ‘carbon majors’ have continually earned enormous profits and have the ability to pay for their share in damages and remain extremely profitable. Global climate damages from emissions associated with the top 25 oil and gas ‘carbon majors’ between 1985 and 2018 are estimated at 20 trillion USD compared to the 30 trillion USD they earned over the same period. In 2022 seven carbon majors including Aramco, Exxon Mobil, and Shell earned profits almost twice the estimated damages caused by their emissions that year – 497 billion USD compared to 260 billion USD; and