John Irwin is the chair of the Sierra Club of Delaware’s Climate and Energy Committee.
I’ve been working with the Sierra Club in Delaware on climate and energy issues for nearly 20 years now. Some things have become very clear over that period.
We know that burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of the increasing climate disasters we see each year. Burning forests and neighborhoods. Smoke-filled air across the country. Flooding across the South and in the Northeast. Droughts out West. Tornadoes in the Midwest and South. Hurricanes are devastating the Gulf and Southern Atlantic coastal states. It’s becoming difficult to find affordable home insurance in many areas. Taxpayers end up footing the bill, as the government has to help restore people’s lives. As this happens, Big Oil and Gas CEOs are asking Congress for total legal immunity against states’ attempts to make these polluters pay for their damages and hold them accountable for their role in the climate crisis. Delawareans need to urge our members of Congress to firmly oppose any efforts to grant Big Oil immunity and protect the rights of states to hold them accountable.
Big Oil has known that burning their products would likely lead to these kinds of climate disasters since the late 1970s. They decided to try to suppress that information and cast doubt on any predictions from other reputable sources. They decided they cared more about protecting their business and profits than figuring out how to prevent those disasters by transitioning to safe and clean energy sources. They could have used their tremendous financial power to become leaders in the new energy economy we need.
Now, they want to cash in on their investment in the Trump administration. Donald Trump asked Big Oil for a billion dollars for his campaign, saying that it would be a “deal” given his policies to slash their taxes and reduce regulations aimed at protecting our communities. They want total immunity against states and individuals suing them for climate damages and for lying about it for decades. But communities deserve their days in court. This is about preserving the integrity of our courts because no industry should be above the law.
There are more than 10 states trying to pass legislation to create “climate Superfunds” funded by companies to help pay for cleaning up after disasters driven by climate change, based on the company’s carbon emissions. Many of these are targeted at the largest fossil fuel companies and will be a small fee compared to their profits. But they want to admit no responsibility for their contribution to climate disasters.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings is one of 12 with active lawsuits seeking to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their lies and to pay their fair share of climate-related damages. It is crucial that our members of Congress reject Big Oil’s bid for total immunity and protect states’ rights to seek these damages.
As the nation’s lowest-lying state, we are at extreme risk for sea level rise and seawater intrusion into agricultural areas and drinking-water aquifers. Without accountability, states end up responsible for cleaning up after disasters and figuring out how to help the many affected residents who may have lost everything, including their homes and property. Meanwhile, the corporations that caused the climate change-driven harm are not contributing a dime toward recovery.
Make Polluters Pay is a campaign that holds oil and gas companies accountable for creating the climate crisis and requires them to pay for the damage they have caused. Delaware must stand in solidarity with states across the country and preserve the right to hold these corporations accountable, now and into the future. Get involved and ask Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons, and Rep. Sarah McBride, all D-Del., to reject Big Oil’s attempts at immunity.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
