In the United States, the state of Vermont adopted a law this Thursday, May 30, which makes oil companies financially responsible for damage caused by the effects of climate change. It thus becomes the first state to adopt such a law. Other American states, such as Maryland, Massachusetts and New York, are considering similar measures.
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The small state of Vermont may be located in the northeast of the UNITED STATES, it warms up faster than its neighbors. It has been hit by multiple climatic disasters in recent years. The latest are the floods of July 2023 which caused more than a billion dollars in damage. A sum well beyond the means of Vermont, whose gross domestic product (GDP) is the lowest in the country.
Read alsoThe northeastern United States and Canada hit by very significant flooding
With the law passed this week, its lawmakers decided to make oil companies pay, since greenhouse gases emitted due to the burning of fossil fuels are responsible for climate change.
By January 2026, authorities will have to quantify the total cost of damage caused to Vermont by greenhouse gases emitted over the past thirty years. They will then pass the bill to the polluters, company by company.
A model inspired by the federal Superfund clean-up program
This polluter pays model concerns companies active in the extraction of fossil fuels or the refining of crude oil and whose greenhouse gas emissions exceed one billion tonnes during the period considered.
The funds could be used by the state to improve stormwater drainage systems, roads, bridges and railways, as well as relocate, raise or upgrade sewage treatment plants, and improve the energy efficiency of buildings public and private. Measures inspired by the federal Superfund clean-up program.
Passage of the Vermont law is only the beginning of a long battle; the oil industry has already announced that it will take legal action.