California legislation would allow victims to sue oil and gas companies over disasters

Terry Collins, USA TODAY
Updated Fri, January 31, 2025 

Two California Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that could allow people and insurers to sue oil and gas companies for damages sparked by climate change-related disasters such as wildfires and mudslides.

The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, authored by state Sens. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco and Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, accuses fossil fuel companies of misleading the public about the impact of their products on climate change.

The bill comes during the very early recovery stages of the devastating wildfires in Southern California earlier this month which have killed at least 28 people and burned more than 35,000 acres. If the measure passes, California would be the first state in the U.S. to allow for such legal action, Wiener told reporters at a news conference Monday in Sacramento.

"We are all paying for these disasters, but there is one stakeholder that is not paying: the fossil fuel industry, which makes the product that is fueling the climate change," said Wiener, flanked by consumer protection and environmental group advocates. "The fossil fuel industry has endless resources, its profits just continue to spiral and spiral into the stratosphere. And we are left holding the bag in terms of paying for these disasters."


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Lawmakers: 'Time for Big Oil to take responsibility'

Due to the spike in climate-driven natural disasters, seven of the top 12 insurance companies in California have paused or limited new business in the last year and a half, despite rate increases approved or pending with the state's insurance department.

Under the proposed measure, people insurance businesses impacted by natural disasters may be able to recoup losses from fossil fuel corporations. Among the insurance companies would be those under California's FAIR Plan, the state insurance option for those who can't get private insurance and are considered by some as a last resort.

Wiener said fossil fuel companies need to be a part of the solution for home and business owners who lose their properties.

"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," Wiener added in a statement announcing the bill.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 8: A firefighter stands on top of a fire truck to battle the Palisades Fire while it burns homes on the Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire has grown to more than 2900-acres and is threatening homes in the coastal neighborhood amid intense Santa Ana Winds and dry conditions in Southern California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)More

Pérez pointed to the devastating impact of the wildfires, including the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres alone and destroyed more than 9,000 structures in her district.

"The reality is that climate change is here, and the fossil fuel industry has known this for decades," Pérez said in a statement. "Now, communities like mine are paying the price, and it’s time for Big Oil to take responsibility."

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Opponent says real solutions are needed, not theatrics

The suit already has its detractors. The Western States Petroleum Association, which represents oil and gas companies in five states, said it will oppose it. In a statement, president and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd said state lawmakers are using the wildfires to "scapegoat" the industry. The state's economy heavily depends on oil and gas, even as California looks to reduce its carbon footprint, she said.

"We need real solutions to help victims in the wake of this tragedy, not theatrics,” Reheis-Boyd said. "Voters are tired of this approach."

California State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Roseville, the vice chair of the Senate's Insurance Committee, told reporters at Monday's news conference that he takes exception to the bill.

"This furthers the false narrative that this is all about climate change. It is of course much more complicated than that," said Niello, noting he believes the state's Democratic leaders underfund forest management projects statewide and Los Angeles leaders cut funds from the fire department's budget.

"Do those issues have anything to do with the conflagration that we've seen in Southern California? I think so," Niello said. "So will Senator Wiener and Perez include in their bill the ability to sue those entities for their role in this, too?" Niello asked.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Calif. lawmakers want oil, gas companies to pay for natural disasters

Dem bill blames LA wildfire damage on fossil fuel emissions, holds oil and gas industry liable

Aubrie Spady

FOX NEWS
Fri, January 31, 2025 

California Democrats are attempting to make state oil and gas companies pay for damage caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, claiming that fossil fuel emissions are to blame for the deadly disaster.

A new Democrat-introduced bill, the Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, if passed, would allow for "victims of climate disasters," such as the L.A. fires, and insurance groups to sue oil and gas companies for damages under the claim that their emissions fueled the raging fires.

Democrat state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill this week, said that fossil fuel companies should pay for fire damage, because they are "driving the climate crisis."

"Californians shouldn’t be the only ones to pay the costs of devastating climate disasters. From last year’s floods to the fires in LA, we know that the fossil fuel industry bears ultimate responsibility for fueling these disasters," state Sen. Scott Wiener wrote in a post on X announcing the legislation.

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Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The bill, which received the backing of several state lawmakers, comes as Democrats have attempted to blame the recent fires on climate change rather than state and city policies, which have faced heightened criticism in the weeks following the deadly blaze

Just months before the wildfire, the city of Los Angeles slashed the fire department funding by over $17 million. The L.A. fire chief said that there are "not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude."

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"We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," actress Sara Foster wrote in a post on X. "@MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far-left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2025.

Trump used the power of his pen this week to sign an executive order to override the state's environmental policies in order to create more water availability in the L.A. area.

In the executive order issued on Sunday, Trump called on federal agencies to override regulations potentially limiting water availability in the area, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which seeks to minimize water infrastructure to protect certain fish species, such as the Delta smelt.

The order comes just weeks after Trump accused Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., of caring more about protecting an endangered fish species than the state's residents amid the wildfires.