The Commission recommendation is very similar to the RENEW Act legislation that will be before the General Assembly in January

BALTIMORE – The Maryland Commission on Climate Change today voted to support identifying how much climate change is costing the state of Maryland for the purpose of making major carbon emitters pay for those damages. The Moore Administration last year released a report stating Maryland needs $1 billion annually to fund climate solutions in compliance with existing law. Today’s Commission vote moves the state closer to securing some of that badly needed revenue in a fair way that does not affect taxpayers. 

“Somebody has to pay for the rising floods and storms and droughts that are harming Marylanders almost every day. Either taxpayers will foot the bill for washed out roads and destroyed farm infrastructure – or the fossil fuel companies that caused the problems will pay their share.” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund.“ We thank the entire Maryland Commission on Climate Change for endorsing a policy recommendation that is completely consistent with the RENEW Act.” 

The RENEW Act, a bill originally proposed on the federal level by Maryland U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, would require that giant oil companies who pollute the most and who do business in Maryland pay into a “superfund” type program for storm recovery and climate resilience in Maryland. The companies would not be able to pass on the costs on to consumers. Vermont and New York have passed similar bills and five other state general assemblies are considering similar bills. The Maryland bill identifies how much fossil fuel companies must pay to the state by first conducting a study to determine the present and future costs of climate change to Maryland. 

That bill tracks consistently with the wording of today’s approved recommendation from the Maryland Commission on Climate Change:

“The Commission believes that Maryland taxpayers should not have to pay the full cost of constantly escalating climate change impacts in the state from sea-level rise, severe storms, and health impacts. To protect taxpayers, the Maryland Commission on Climate Change recommends that the Maryland General Assembly commission a study of the current and projected costs of anthropogenic climate change to the State of Maryland for the purpose of joining other states in assessing a fee on major carbon polluters, one that cannot be transferred to consumers, to compensate the State of Maryland.”

Separately, the Commission also voted to support the Maryland Department of the Environment in establishing a reporting rule for a cap and invest program, a necessary first step before enacting a cap and invest program.

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CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For over 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, West Virginia,  Virginia, and Washington, D.C.