CA’s budget deficit and the Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund

OPINION – On Wednesday, May 14th – four months after devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, taking the lives of dozens and causing as much as $250 billion in economic losses – Governor Gavin Newsom took to the podium to announce his revised budget, which features a shortfall of $12 billion.

This unprecedented budget shortfall – which doesn’t even account for expected federal spending cuts – leaves California with a shaky and uncertain economic outlook, to say the least. Further, funding for vital programs Californians rely on, including essential climate programs, are on the chopping block. Cuts could come for programs providing communities with safe water and clean, affordable energy, protecting workers from extreme heat, and funding infrastructure upgrades that prepare us for fires and floods.

All of this budget chaos comes as everyday Californians are forced to absorb the costs of fossil fuel-driven climate change – on top of the already expensive cost of living, whether through higher health care costs because of heatwaves and wildfire smoke, the loss of property and homeowners insurance, or lives and communities destroyed when climate disasters strike.

January’s wildfires that devastated Los Angeles are sadly just one example. Fossil fuel-driven climate change created the dry and windy conditions previously unheard of for Southern California winters. But the corporations raking in obscene profits from climate pollution expect everyday Californians to pick up the cost for lost homes and schools, as well as disrupted and destroyed lives.

California also faces hundreds of billions of dollars in climate crisis-related costs in the years ahead. From extreme heat and wildfires to longer dry periods punctuated by flooding and sea level rise, our state is on the front line of climate change. And the science shows that these climate disasters are only going to become more frequent and intense – and expensive – as our planet warms and emissions continue to rise.

At the core of this is a simple fact: California desperately needs the resources to protect residents from the inevitable reality of the climate crisis.

Thankfully, legislation currently moving through the California legislature could be a lifeline for our budget and get us back on the right track. The Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund bills (SB 684 /AB 1243), introduced by state Senator Caroline Menjivar and Assemblymember Dawn Addis, would require the largest historical emitters of climate pollution to pay for the devastation they have caused across California.

Major fossil fuel polluters knew their business practices were contributing to climate change decades ago, but many engaged in a massive disinformation campaign to keep profiting off the status quo. They are now responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions, while continuing to make record profits. California’s Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund would address this by shifting the financial burden away from regular people and onto the corporate polluters responsible – and provide California with the much needed funding to prepare our state for the next disaster.

So where is our governor in all of this?

Governor Newsom has touted his ambitious climate promises in the past, and even sued Big Oil for covering up the damage done to our communities and our environment. But, he has remained oddly quiet on the Superfund – despite the disastrous budget shortfall our state faces as his final term winds down. Now Newsom’s reputation as a climate leader and responsible fiscal steward is on the line – especially as states like New York have jumped ahead of California and already passed their own Superfund laws.

Hopefully a stark look at our budget will remind Governor Newsom and our legislators that for California’s long-term financial future, it is imperative that we hold polluters accountable – now.

Nicole Ghio is the California director of Food & Water Watch.