For too long, fossil fuel companies have harmed public health and profited while our communities end up paying the price for climate disasters. The Make Polluters Pay movement is in full force across the country and we will continue to fight for as many years as it takes to win. This is about shifting that cost back where it belongs — onto the corporations that knowingly caused the damage.
This movement isn’t just about one policy — it’s about a simple principle: if you cause the harm, you should help pay for the repair.
While companies made billions of dollars despite decades of warnings of the accelerating dangers of climate change, Californians have increasingly faced rises in wildfire occurrence, flood occurrence, sea level, pollution levels, extreme heat, drought, and more. There have been numerous documented cases of fossil fuel companies polluting waterways, soil, and the air through oil spills, explosions, and fires, with further damage being caused by everyday industry practices. The costs in medical expenses, insurance rates, housing, and utility bills have undoubtedly been influenced by the actions of California’s biggest polluters driving our climate crisis. Yet the costs of these climate events fall on those who had no say in the extraction and destruction of our environment.
The fund created will be used to respond to climate catastrophes, build climate-resilient neighborhoods and sustainable infrastructure, support workers suffering from climate-related health harms, and usher in a thriving and fair transition away from fossil fuels.
It’s time for polluters to pay for destroying our health and the health of our planet!
We at SF Bay PSR are working on health professional sign on letters, op-eds, visits with legislators, and our interns have been leading outreach at colleges!
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VISIT our ACTIONS page here for current MPP actions and events!
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April 2025: Trump’s Executive Order and How Make Polluters Pay Campaigns Across the Country Can Respond
On April 8, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to target state climate laws and lawsuits that hold fossil fuel companies accountable. The order explicitly targets New York and Vermont’s climate superfund laws and threatens ongoing climate accountability litigation nationwide. Th executive order is a clear attempt to shield polluters from paying their fair share of climate disaster costs. This executive order is a shameless attempt to ensure the burden falls on working families instead of fossil fuel billionaires.
- This Is a Fight We’re Ready For—and One We Can Win
- Trump’s executive order isn’t a setback—it’s proof that climate accountability is working and Big Oil is running scared.
- Democratic officials should respond with lawsuits defending their authority to hold polluters accountable.
- Trump campaigned on “states’ rights” but now attacks states exercising their legitimate power. This hypocrisy exposes that his administration serves corporate interests, not the constitution or constituents.
- Turn Defense into Offense
- This executive order should inspire MORE states to pass climate superfund laws against Big Oil, not fewer. Nothing in this order prevents states from continuing to advance climate accountability.
- Every state not yet considering climate superfund legislation should take this as their cue to introduce bills immediately. A coordinated response will make federal interference more difficult.
- Highlight the Human Costs and Political Risk
- As climate-fueled disasters ravage communities nationwide, voters will not look kindly on officials who protect fossil fuel profits over people paying for recovery costs.
- This executive order forces a clear choice: either fossil fuel companies pay for the damage they knowingly caused, or struggling families and taxpayers do.
- Every climate disaster now becomes an opportunity to highlight how Trump is attempting to block recovery funds that should be obtained from the companies that fueled the crisis.
