(AP) Trenton, New Jersey The opening scene of the classic New Jersey television series The Sopranos, which has the main character driving by gas and oil storage tanks along the New Jersey Turnpike, is no coincidence.
There are many oil and natural gas facilities in New Jersey, ranging from the suburbs of New York to the Delaware River beachfront across from Philadelphia.
Under a bill under consideration in the state Legislature, those facilities would be charged fees to assist the state in combating the effects of climate change.
The legislation, which will be addressed Thursday in a state Senate committee, would impose an additional tax on chemical and petroleum industries to pay for ongoing cleanups, creating a Climate Superfund akin to the federal government’s hazardous waste cleanup fund.
Many other states are considering or using this strategy, including Vermont, which just passed a law of this kind. States like California, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York are thinking about following suit.
Making polluters pay to repair, upgrade, and harden our vital infrastructure from climate-driven damage is more crucial than ever for protecting New Jersey taxpayers and community health, said Matt Smith, New Jersey Director of the nonprofit Food & Water Watch.
The business lobby in New Jersey is already opposing the law. According to Ray Cantor, a representative of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the law will only increase the price of gas and oil for home heating consumers and gasoline for drivers.
Beyond attempting to impose retroactive accountability on businesses who were supplying the state’s inhabitants with a required, essential, and lawful product, he stated that there are numerous other issues with the bill. Its cost assessments are unconstitutional and will probably be superseded by federal law. It will have no effect on climate change or lower greenhouse gas emissions.
When Vermont’s bill was signed into law in May, his criticism was in line with that of the oil and gas sectors.
According to the New Jersey measure, some fossil fuel companies would be held accountable for specific harms that the state and its citizens suffer as a result of climate change.
Climate change is mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.
According to the idea, fossil fuel producers would be subject to as-yet-unspecified fees. The state Department of Environmental Protection would then use the funds as grants to fund climate change adaptation and severe weather resilience initiatives in the state.
The state would determine that each responsible party is strictly liable for the damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels since 1995, and it would take two years to evaluate those damages.
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