Making Polluters Pay in D.C.:
Taxpayer Relief and Climate Protection
D.C. is no stranger to the effects of climate change. Increasingly intense storms, floods, and heat waves are damaging homes and lives across D.C. These extreme weather events are intensified by climate change, and will only pose more and more of a threat in the years to come.
Preparing for and responding to these extreme weather events will require the District to invest in new infrastructure, but D.C. residents and taxpayers can’t be left footing the bill. Our campaign to make polluters pay is a bold step toward protecting our communities by raising funds from the world’s largest fossil fuel companies to pay for the impact of climate change in the District.
Sign our petition to show your support for making polluters pay!
Climate Change is Costing Us
Washingtonians are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather linked to climate change. Heat waves, unpredictable flooding, and other extreme weather events disrupt lives, destroy infrastructure, and strain public resources, particularly in Black and Brown communities, overburdened and underserved communities, elderly populations, and for the underinsured and children.
Storms and Flooding
- DC has had more flash flood watches than any other major city in 2025. 17.7% of all properties in D.C. are at risk of flooding in the coming decades.
- By 2080, areas that are now considered at risk of a 100-year flood to become vulnerable to 15-year floods
Extreme Heat
- Heat caused by high temperatures and humidity is the deadliest extreme weather event.
- The urban heat island effect means some D.C. neighborhoods can be about 17 degrees hotter than others.
Yet the burden of funding relief and mitigation often falls on taxpayers, while major polluters escape accountability. Climate change could cost each DC resident born in 2024 an extra $500,000 over their lifetimes. Meanwhile… 2024 profits for the top emitters in the world totaled $102,000,000,000.
When Big Oil Pays, We Can Prepare For A Changing Climate
Our legislation will take this burden off of taxpayers and put it squarely on the shoulders of the largest, most polluting international fossil fuel companies.
Fossil fuel companies knowingly engaged in activities that they understood would cause harm and economic damages. This bill seeks to hold companies accountable for the economic burden their greenhouse gas pollution has had on Washington, D.C. through “strict liability” – a legal term that means “if you make a mess, you clean it up” – based on the massive amounts of greenhouse gas pollution emitted by Big Oil.
How It Works:
Establishing a Cost Recovery Program
The Act creates a cost recovery framework that identifies responsible parties—Big Oil companies that are responsible for over one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in D.C. —and requires them to pay their proportional share of climate change-induced damages to the state.
Funding Relief and Mitigation
The Act establishes the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Compensation Fund, financed through cost recovery from polluters.
These funds will go to:
- Repairing disaster-damaged public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and transit systems
- Installing air conditioning in public buildings, including schools
- Investing in stormwater management to prevent flooding
- Investing in resilient clean energy infrastructure to ensure the lights stay on when disaster strikes, with a focus on investment in environmental justice communities
Transparent Reporting and Accountability
District agencies will issue annual reports detailing program funding, usage, and progress.
FAQ
Q: Will these costs cause oil and gas companies to go bankrupt?
A: In 2023, the three largest oil and gas companies in the US reported combined profits of $85.6 billion dollars. These companies are bringing in record profits as the climate crisis worsens.
Q: Will this affect consumer prices?
A: The non-partisan Institute for Policy Integrity conducted an exhaustive analysis of a similar policy proposed in Maryland, and found that companies affected will not pass this cost onto residents. The companies who pay into the fund will not be able to pass the cost along to consumers because they will still have to compete with smaller producers who don’t have to pay into the fund. A gas station can buy oil from any producer. If 40 producers raise their prices, the gas station owner will buy from the hundreds of other producers who have not raised their prices.
Q: How will we make sure polluters pay?
A: This law will work like other consumer protection laws or other environmental regulations companies must follow, meaning if they fail to pay they could be held liable by the District.
Q: I thought the District was already suing polluters over climate change. How is this different?
A: You’re right! The District government is suing oil and gas companies for violating the Consumer Protection Act by misleading consumers about “the central role their products play in causing climate change.” Our legislation isn’t about punishing polluters for misleading marketing or lying to the public, it’s about demanding they compensate the District for the actual damages caused by their products. You can read more about the lawsuit here.
Q: Will the Trump Administration or Congress stop this from happening in the District?
A: Our bill fits squarely in the realm of policies D.C. has long been able to decide for itself under home rule. It is possible federal leaders could make unprecedented moves to interfere with our local politics, but we don’t believe in stepping back from the fight – whether it’s against climate change and polluters or undemocratic power grabs like walking back home rule.
Q: Where else is this being done?
A: The District is in good company! Vermont and New York state have already passed legislation to make polluters pay for climate damages, and legislation is currently under consideration in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, and Minnesota, to name a few.
