On Thursday, June 26, the Somerville City Council voted unanimously in favor of a municipal resolution in support of H.1014/S.588, An Act establishing a climate change
superfund. The resolution was introduced by Council President Judy Neufeld. This legislation would raise billions from top greenhouse gas polluters over the next 25 years. Activists attended the Council Meeting and made public comments in strong support of the resolution.

The Municipal Resolution, which received overwhelming approval, sends a resounding message about the urgent need to address the mounting costs of climate change and the support from communities to hold polluters accountable. Somerville follows Cambridge, Boston, Medford, Malden, Brookline, and Northampton to pass a resolution in support of H.1014/S.588, showing the growing strength of the campaign. The city would benefit under the policy from increased funding to mitigate waterfront flooding, extreme heat, and air pollution.

“Major polluters who have profited, knowingly, at the expense of Somerville's public health and safety should be held financially accountable for the damages caused by their products, and this resolution is an important step towards that end.” - Nasser Brahim, Director of Climate Resilience for Mystic River Watershed Association

“It’s clear that mitigation efforts will be extensive and expensive to reach our 2050 energy goals. Even if we eventually get help from the state and perhaps even from the federal government [Somerville] still won’t have enough money to meet our needs. That is where [the Climate Superfund] comes in.” - Grace Hall, Somerville Resident and member of UU Mass Action

“Somerville has made remarkable progress in addressing the impacts of climate change but there is still so much more to be done. The updated Climate Forward plan marks an ambitious trajectory for the City but who will foot the bill? So far it is Somerville taxpayers but they didn’t make this mess. Massachusetts taxpayers didn’t make this mess. The Make Polluters Pay bill demands that those who made the mess pay to clean it up.” - Rachael Boyce, Climate Justice and Resilience Manager for Better Future Project whose offices are in Somerville’s Ward 2.

An Act establishing a climate change superfund will create a substantial fund derived from a portion of the profits of the largest oil and gas companies. These funds will provide essential support for climate change adaptation projects across the state, addressing the urgent need for climate resilience. The bill sets aside 40% of the funding for projects that directly benefit environmental justice communities and includes strong language protecting workers rights, while encouraging the use of apprenticeship programs in most projects. As fossil fuel corporations continue to amass record profits, the burden of climate change impact on taxpayers becomes increasingly evident. Recent polling shows that 77% of Americans believe that big oil and gas companies bear "a lot" or "some responsibility" to combat climate change.