Two Democratic lawmakers filed legislation Monday that would hold oil and gas firms accountable for damages resulting from climate change-related disasters in California.
According to the plan, the oil sector purposefully misled the public about the dangers of fossil fuels on climate change, which has now exacerbated storms and wildfires and cost California billions of dollars in damages.
According to the bill’s sponsors, these catastrophes have also caused a crisis in the state insurance market, leading to premium increases, coverage restrictions, or the entire withdrawal of insurance companies from areas vulnerable to wildfires and other natural disasters.
Utility companies are responsible for damages under state law if their equipment ignites a wildfire. According to Robert Herrell, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, oil and gas firms should be held to the same standard because of their significant role in these climate change-fueled fires.
By enabling people to sue the oil industry to recover their damages, the bill seeks to lessen the financial burden on insurance companies and victims of similar catastrophes. In order to prevent it from going bankrupt, it would also enable the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, which was established by the state as a last alternative for homeowners who were unable to find insurance.
According to the author, California would be the first state in the US to permit such lawsuits if it were authorized.
At a press conference on Monday, state senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s author, stated that while we are all paying for these catastrophes, one group is not: the fossil fuel business, which produces the commodity that is causing climate change.
Oil and gas firms, who have suffered a series of setbacks in California in recent years as the nation’s most populous state began to refocus policy objectives to combat climate change, are certain to strongly oppose the new proposal.
Oil and gas businesses in five states are represented by the Western States Petroleum Association, which has already indicated that it will oppose the plan. The LA fires are being used as a scapegoat by state lawmakers, according to Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president and CEO.
In the wake of this catastrophe, we need practical solutions—not showmanship—to aid victims, Reheis-Boyd stated in a statement. Voters are fed up with this strategy.
Proponents said that by enabling insurers to recoup a portion of the expenses incurred by oil firms during a natural disaster, the legislation would also aid in stabilizing the state’s insurance market and preventing policyholders from paying higher rates. Numerous consumer protection and environmental organizations are in favor of the law.
As California starts the protracted rehabilitation process following several fatal fires that tore through parts of Los Angeles and destroyed over 12,000 buildings earlier this month, the legislation was introduced. According to estimates, the fires were the most expensive natural disasters in American history and the most devastating in the city of Los Angeles’ recent history. Last week, lawmakers approved spending $2.5 billion to aid in the region’s reconstruction.
According to the Center for Climate Integrity, oil and gas firms have been sued in recent years for their part in climate change in dozens of U.S. towns, eight states, and Washington, D.C. These lawsuits are still pending in court. California filed one more than a year ago, alleging that some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world misled the public about the dangers of fossil fuels.
The vast majority of scientists concur that in order to prevent global warming, the world must dramatically reduce the use of coal, oil, and gas. This is due to the fact that burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which makes up more than three-quarters of all greenhouse gases produced by humans.
Giving insurers more flexibility to boost prices in exchange for more issuing policies in high-risk areas is another way California is trying to entice insurers to stay in the state.
Seven of the top 12 insurance companies operating in California in 2023 either halted or limited new operations in the state due to the escalating dangers of climate-driven catastrophic disasters. The state will soon permit insurers to pass on the costs of reinsurance to California consumers, and it currently permits them to take climate change into account when determining their rates.
The Associated Press
