Protect Virginia, Hold Polluters Accountable: A Safer Future Through the Extreme Weather Relief Act
The Extreme Weather Relief Act (EWRA) will invest in disaster relief and preparedness for Virginia.
HB2233 / SB1123
Virginia is already facing the devastating effects of climate change: rising sea levels, worsening storms, and extreme heat waves. The Extreme Weather Relief Act (EWRA) is a bold step toward protecting our communities by raising funds from the world’s largest fossil fuel companies, holding them responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
The Problem
Virginia’s communities are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters linked to climate change. Coastal flooding, heat waves, and 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. Yet the burden of funding relief and mitigation often falls on taxpayers, while major polluters escape accountability. For example, Governor Youngkin recently requested $4.4 billion for Hurricane Helene relief – money which comes from taxpayers.
The Solution: EWRA (HB2233 / SB1123)
The Extreme Weather Relief Act establishes a cost recovery program that ensures the biggest polluters contribute to funding natural disaster relief and resilient clean energy infrastructure to future-proof our grid as extreme weather worsens. This Act is a critical step in holding polluters accountable and building a safer, cleaner Virginia.
The Extreme Weather Relief Act: Investing in Virginia
How EWRA 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 Virginia between 1995 and 2024—and requires them to pay their proportional share of climate change-induced damages to the state.
Funding Relief and Mitigation
The Act establishes the Extreme Weather Relief Program Fund, financed through cost recovery from polluters.. These funds will go to:
- Repairing disaster-damaged public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railroads, and transit systems;
- Providing medical care to treat illness or injury caused by the effects of extreme weather;
- Giving direct monetary relief to individuals, businesses and localities impacted by extreme weather events;
- 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
State agencies will issue annual reports detailing program funding, usage, and progress. Independent audits every five years ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
Why is this needed?
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 Virginia 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.
There is an overwhelming body of evidence demonstrating Big Oil’s awareness of the link between their activities and climate damages. Click below for examples.
- Benjamin Franta, Early oil industry knowledge of CO2 and global warming, 8 Nature Climate Change 1024 (Nov. 19, 2018), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0349-9
- Smoke and Fumes: The Legal and Evidentiary Basis for Holding Big Oil Accountable for the Climate Crisis, Center for International Environmental Law 12 (Nov. 2017), https://www.ciel.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/11/Smoke-Fumes-FINAL.pdf
- Environmental Research, A Status Report, American Petroleum Institute (Jan. 1972), http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED066339.pdf
- Memo from J.F. Black to F.G. Turpin re The Greenhouse Effect, Exxon Research and Engineering Company 2 (June 6, 1978), http://www.climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/1978-exxon-memo-ongreenhouse-effect-for-exxon-corporation-management-committee/
- Memo from R.W. Cohen to W. Glass re possible “catastrophic” effect of CO2, Exxon Corporation 1 (Aug. 18, 1981), http://www.climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/1981-exxon-memo-on-possibleemission-consequences-of-fossil-fuel-consumption
- Memo from M.B. Glaser to Exxon Management re CO2 “Greenhouse” Effect, Exxon Research and Engineering Company 11 (Nov. 12, 1982), https://www.climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/1982-memoto-exxon-management-about-co2-greenhouse-effect/
- Between 1983-84, Exxon’s researchers published their results in at least three peer- reviewed papers in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences and American Geophysical Union. See e.g. Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect: Is Burning of Fossil Fuels Affecting World Climate?, Mobil Oil Corp., Status Report Environmental & Toxicology Issue No. 83-2 (June 1, 1983), https://perma.cc/6A6Y-GQSF
- Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes, Assessing ExxonMobil’s climate change communications (1977–2014), 12(8) Environmental Research Letters 084019 (Aug. 23, 2017), http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa815f
What’s at Stake?
Without immediate action, Virginia faces worsening climate impacts:
- More extreme weather: Hurricanes, flooding, and heat waves are on the rise.
- Threatened resources: Coastal communities and critical ecosystems are under siege.
- Economic strain: The costs of rebuilding after disasters are skyrocketing.
The Extreme Weather Relief Act ensures Virginia has the resources to respond to disasters while advancing long-term climate solutions.
Take Action to Hold Big Oil Accountable
Resources
Bill text: Read the full Extreme Weather Relief Act here.
Key articles:
- Snowstorm causes vehicle crashes, power outages in Richmond area
- VA Medical Centers Vulnerable To Extreme Weather As Climate Warms
- New York and Vermont to Increase Accountability for Major Climate Polluters
Related Campaigns:
For more information, please contact:
Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director, CCAN Action Fund
vhiggins@chesapeakeclimate.org
