FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2025  

CONTACT: Alex Domb, Food & Water Watch  

Phone: 609-529-7721 | Email: [email protected] 

Brookline Backs Bill to Make Polluters Pay

Brookline, MA (June 6, 2025) — On Thursday, June 5, Brookline Town Meeting members voted overwhelmingly to pass Warrant Article 25, a resolution endorsing Massachusetts legislation (H.1014/S.588) that would create a Climate Change Superfund. The state bill would raise billions over 25 years from the largest fossil companies to help fund urgently needed climate resilience projects in communities across the Commonwealth.

Brookline's resolution was a joint effort between several Make Polluters Pay coalition members led by Climate Action Brookline, including Elders Climate Action, Mothers Out Front Brookline, and Brookline Greenspace.

Brookline joins Boston, Cambridge, Medford, Malden, and Northampton in backing the bill, reflecting growing momentum across Massachusetts to shift the cost of climate damages off of residents and onto the corporations most responsible for the crisis. The legislation would also direct 40% of its funding to projects that benefit environmental justice communities.

“This vote shows the growing momentum behind a simple demand: Fossil fuel giants should pay for the harm they’ve caused,” said Nisha Swinton, Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “Communities across Massachusetts are facing the rising costs of climate disasters — and they shouldn't be left holding the bill while companies like Exxon, Chevron, and Shell rake in record profits. Lawmakers must pass the Climate Superfund bill and send it to the governor’s desk without delay.”

“Members of Third Act MA celebrate this vote by the members of Brookline Town Meeting members,” said Patricia-Maria Weinmann, Coordinating Committee Member of Third Act Massachusetts. “By learning from, and being inspired by, the citizens in Brookline who were successful, our members across the state can make it happen in their own towns and cities. It's time to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable, and the Make Polluters Pay bill is a powerful way to do so.”

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