Democrat California State Senator Scott Weiner introduced legislation that allows residents to sue oil companies over the state’s disasters.
The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, SB 222, “improves insurance affordability in California by shifting the burden of increased insurance costs away from California ratepayers to the fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis,” a press release on the bill says. The bill further “makes victims of major climate disasters whole by allowing them to seek damages from fossil fuel companies in court.”
Weiner said Californians are “paying a devastating price for the climate crisis, as escalating disasters destroy entire communities and drive insurance costs through the roof.” He claimed, “Containing these costs is critical to our recovery and to the future of our state. By forcing the fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis to pay their fair share, we can help stabilize our insurance market and make the victims of climate disasters whole.”
Republican State Senator Roger Niello called the bill an “invitation for lawsuits.” He explained, as per CBS News, that the bill “furthers the narrative, the false narrative that this is all about climate change. It is of course much more complicated than that.”
The Western States Petroleum Association President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd condemned the proposal, saying California needs “real solutions to help victims in the wake of this tragedy, not theatrics. Voters are tired of this approach.”
“Every day, consumers, including Sen. Wiener, rely on and choose to use gasoline-powered cars and purchase products made from fossil fuels. Our economy depends on oil and gas even as California looks to reduce its carbon footprint,” Reheis-Boyd said. “The vulnerabilities in the existing oil and gas infrastructure must be addressed. Otherwise, technical realities will get in the way of aspirational goals if left ignored.”
She added that the proposal is part of an effort to “scapegoat our industry — and the thousands of hardworking women and men who keep California running — for political gain, while complex problems continue to go unsolved.”
