This page contains resources to help activists learn more about key parts of the Climate Superfund bill in Massachusetts. In addition to this, there are also resources pertaining to the scientific background on climate change and fossil fuels, evidence detailing fossil fuel corporation's role in climate change, explanations of climate superfund bills in other states, and recent climate lawsuit updates. 

 

 

According to the U.S. Energy Administration Association, fossil fuel corporations are responsible for 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and 93% of U.S. emissions. Simply put: fossil fuel corporations are the main cause of climate change acceleration and disaster 

Fossil fuel companies understood the impacts of their products and refused to transition away from harmful products and offer alternatives, instead choosing to double down on fossil fuels.

In the absence of a climate superfund bill, we are paying twice—once for their products AND again for the damages their products are causing.

The resources below expand on this key issue:

 

 

Fossil fuel companies knew the extraction and burning of fossil fuels would cause drastic and irreversible climate change.

In 1977 Shell co-funded and helped organize a workshop studying the impact of fossil fuels. The 491 page report that came out of the workshop predicted the deadly results of fossil fuel use, warning of “drastic economic consequences” and “severe stresses on human societies." Shell ignored this report and continued extracting and burning fossil fuels. 

Recent reporting from the Guardian has traced fossil fuel cooperation’s knowledge of climate change back to 1954. These companies have been knowingly deceiving the public and harming our communities. 

The resources below detail the evidence:



 

A climate superfund draws money from profits already earned by top polluters and creates a fund to support local communities most affected by climate change. 

One flood event in Western Massachusetts in the summer of 2023 caused $39 million of damages to public infrastructure. Climate change will only increase the frequency and intensity of these disasters, including hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, blizzards, severe storms, wildfires, and other extreme weather events.

On average, Massachusetts towns have only a $5,000 budget for disaster response, which is woefully little compared to the cost of disasters. State aid can sometimes help mitigate costs arising from disasters, but there is currently no plan to fund climate adaptation at the scale required.

Both Vermont and New York successfully passed Climate Superfund bills in 2024, setting a powerful precedent for Massachusetts to join.

Below are resources to learn more about climate superfunds: 




 

There is a growing movement across the globe in support of making polluters pay and climate accountability. In the U.S. there are currently 1,850 climate lawsuits currently filed, and 946 more across the world. 

Below are links to more information, including interactive maps of current climate lawsuits both in the U.S. and globally: 

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains why big oil companies can't raise consumer prices to cover their Climate Superfund payments, including these main points:
  • Oil prices are set by global markets, not individual companies
  • Fixed fees based on past pollution don't affect current production costs
  • Competition prevents companies from raising prices above market rates