Vermont Will Force Oil Companies To Pay For Climate Damage. Court Fight Next

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Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act has a benign name but does not have benign intentions. Vermont is the first state to say it will make oil companies pay for the damage they have done to the environment. The plan may never happen. The fight over the issues will almost move to the courts, where the oil companies can have unlimited money to spend as they defend themselves.

More Climate Damage –-SUV Emissions

Government Problems –Sustainable Cities

According to The Guardian, “Under the legislation, Vermont officials will have until January 2026 to assess the total costs to the state from greenhouse gases emitted between 1995 and 2024, including the impacts on public health, biodiversity and economic development.” Those damages may be hard to pin down exactly. No matter how much data is available, one question at issue is how it is interpreted.

Big Tobacco

Many believe these lawsuits against fossil fuel companies will be easy to enforce. Several more suits are in the offing at the state and city levels. Each has the same goal. To make fossil fuel companies pay for what they have done to damage the environment.

Some analysts believe these laws will be successful by getting Big Oil to pay the way Big Tobacco did three decades ago. Smoking killed millions of people and made tens of millions of people sick. And perhaps most importantly, the tobacco companies knew about the danger year in advance and did nothing.

But how long has Big Oil known about the damage it has done? Environmentalists have argued for decades. The issue still has to be proven in court.

The final challenge states and cities will have is determining who was hurt by Big Oil and how. Was it individuals’ health? Did it ruin some industries? The answers seem obvious, but proving them is not simple.