{"id":3268,"date":"2025-11-03T08:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/?p=3268"},"modified":"2025-11-03T08:05:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:05:31","slug":"bearing-the-costs-of-climate-catastrophe-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/bearing-the-costs-of-climate-catastrophe-in-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Bearing the Costs of Climate Catastrophe in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osc.ny.gov\/files\/reports\/pdf\/severe-weather-events-and-resiliency-in-ny-state.pdf\">report<\/a>\u00a0from the State Comptroller found that severe weather events in the state are more frequent and that these storms require New York taxpayers to shoulder a growing financial burden. The report found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Weather-related disasters that cause $1 billion or more in damage have occurred at an increasing rate since 1980.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Severe weather events are increasing in New York and certain types of events, including thunderstorm-related damaging wind and flash floods, are also increasing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since 1998 there have been an average of 2.5 weather events <em>per year<\/em> in New York that resulted in federal disaster or emergency declarations with authorized <em>annual<\/em> assistance averaging nearly $1 billion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The report also identified the New York counties getting hammered worst, including Saratoga, Herkimer, Ulster, Albany, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, Oneida and Washington counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The costs are staggering and taxpayers \u2013 both federal and state \u2013 bear those costs. The Comptroller\u2019s report mentioned that the state\u2019s recently approved Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act covers some of the costs, but <em>you<\/em> pay for that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What the report failed to mention was New York\u2019s new law, the landmark<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/legislation\/bills\/2025\/S824\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/legislation\/bills\/2025\/S824\"><u>Climate Change Superfund Act<\/u><\/a>. The Climate Superfund requires that major polluters like Exxon, Saudi Aramco, and BP for the first time will pay for some of the costs of extreme weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New York&#8217;s law shifts the financial burden <em>from <\/em>local taxpayers <em>to <\/em>polluters. New York\u2019s Climate Superfund is a mechanism to ensure that state and local taxpayers are <em>not <\/em>on the financial hook for 100% of the damages caused by severe storms, rising sea levels, and hotter temperatures. New Yorkers are <em>already<\/em> paying<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/pubs\/202403\/NY_Renews_&amp;_NYPIRG_Household_Spending_Report_3-20-24.pdf\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/pubs\/202403\/NY_Renews_&amp;_NYPIRG_Household_Spending_Report_3-20-24.pdf\"><u>billions<\/u><\/a> in climate-related damages. There is no doubt that those costs will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why should the fossil fuel industry help offset the state\u2019s costs for a worsening climate? The oil industry<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/01\/12\/1148376084\/exxon-climate-predictions-were-accurate-decades-ago-still-it-sowed-doubt#:~:text=The%20company%20faces%20more%20than,the%20public%20about%20climate%20change.\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/01\/12\/1148376084\/exxon-climate-predictions-were-accurate-decades-ago-still-it-sowed-doubt#:~:text=The%20company%20faces%20more%20than,the%20public%20about%20climate%20change.\"><u>knew<\/u><\/a> for decades that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to rising temperatures and correctly anticipated all of the havoc that it would cause. Yet, instead of being responsible members of civil society, they bamboozled the public and lawmakers about the dangers in order to maintain their profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now the costs are coming due. Here are some examples facing New York: Recent estimates put the price tags at<a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/army-corps-52-billion-dollar-storm-surge-barriers-new-york-new-jersey-harbor-waterways\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/army-corps-52-billion-dollar-storm-surge-barriers-new-york-new-jersey-harbor-waterways\"><u>$52 billion<\/u><\/a> to protect NYC Harbor,<a href=\"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/reports\/is-new-york-city-ready-for-rain\/#:~:text=%5B16%5D%20New%20York%20City's%20sewer,inches%20of%20rain%20per%20hour.\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/reports\/is-new-york-city-ready-for-rain\/#:~:text=%5B16%5D%20New%20York%20City's%20sewer,inches%20of%20rain%20per%20hour.\"><u>$100 billion<\/u><\/a> to upgrade NYC\u2019s sewers to handle more intense storms,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/long-island\/environment\/climate-change-sea-levels-bay-tides-long-island-s1hsx81r\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/long-island\/environment\/climate-change-sea-levels-bay-tides-long-island-s1hsx81r\"><u>$75-$100 billion<\/u><\/a> to protect Long Island, and $55 billion for climate costs outside of New York City. The state Comptroller has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.osc.ny.gov\/press\/releases\/2023\/04\/dinapoli-localities-spending-more-address-climate-change-hazards\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osc.ny.gov\/press\/releases\/2023\/04\/dinapoli-localities-spending-more-address-climate-change-hazards\"><u>predicted<\/u><\/a> that more than half of local governments\u2019 costs will be attributable to the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The costs will be staggering, yet they are costs that must be paid. New York has decided that the companies most responsible for the emissions of greenhouse gases should pay their share. Thus, the Climate Superfund assesses the largest oil companies $3 billion annually for each of the next 25 years to help offset these costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It does so in a way that ensures that the companies <em>cannot<\/em> pass these costs on to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/climatechange\/files\/Final_Brief_MPP_Economics.pdf\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/climatechange\/files\/Final_Brief_MPP_Economics.pdf\"><u>analysis<\/u><\/a> by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law, companies&#8217; payments would be based on historical greenhouse gas emissions, so oil companies would have to treat these as one-time fixed costs. <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1Z17moGRSUN9BuKLTZThvXjnpyrnzghSfDFs-DIHA_Hs\/edit?usp=sharing\"><\/a>Nobel Prize winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1Z17moGRSUN9BuKLTZThvXjnpyrnzghSfDFs-DIHA_Hs\/edit?usp=sharing\">agrees<\/a>, concluding that the Superfund Act will not raise the price of oil on consumers since \u201cthe assessment generated by the Climate Superfund is based on past pollution and therefore does not affect today&#8217;s marginal cost of production, there should be no shifting of costs to consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it lost in the state Legislature and with Governor Hochul, the oil industry is not giving up the fight to stop New York\u2019s Climate Superfund law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/energy-oil\/oil-companies-seek-trumps-help-to-thwart-climate-lawsuits-superfund-laws-7e332d0d?st=wz7itT\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/energy-oil\/oil-companies-seek-trumps-help-to-thwart-climate-lawsuits-superfund-laws-7e332d0d?st=wz7itT\"><u>reported<\/u><\/a> in <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, the oil industry has met with the President to urge action to both overturn New York\u2019s law as well as to more generally block environmental litigation. If the oil industry is successful, those $3 billion will be charged back to state and local taxpayers \u2013 either through a massive increase in taxes or draconian cuts to government-provided services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To reiterate, these climate costs are not optional, they <em>have to<\/em> be paid, there is no getting around it. If a roadway gets flooded, or a bridge washed away, they have to be replaced. The question is should the public pay <em>all<\/em> of these costs? New York says no. If Washington overturns New York\u2019s law, taxpayers will have to pick up the <em>entire <\/em>cost, increasing taxes (or cutting services, or both) to the tune of $3 billion <em>annually<\/em>. Here\u2019s hoping that our Congressional delegation makes sure that does not happen. Otherwise, expect another climate hit to your wallet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report\u00a0from the State Comptroller found that severe weather events in the state are more frequent and that these storms require New York taxpayers to shoulder a growing financial burden. The report found that: The report also identified the New York counties getting hammered worst, including Saratoga, Herkimer, Ulster, Albany, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, Oneida [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3269,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3268\/revisions\/3269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}