Leaders for Climate Accountability Will Fight to Make the Fossil Fuel Industry Pay Its Fair Share of Climate Change Damages

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Local and state public officials from across the United States today announced the creation of a new nationwide network of public officials who support holding corporate polluters accountable for their outsized role in creating and perpetuating the climate crisis. 

Leaders for Climate Accountability is launching as a growing number of states and localities are taking or considering legal action to recover the spiraling local costs of climate change damages — such as sea-level rise, wildfires, floods, and supercharged storms — from major oil and gas companies who knew their products would cause the climate crisis but lied to the public and opposed climate action for decades. 

Leaders for Climate Accountability announced an inaugural class of 68 state and local officials in 18 states, with plans to expand membership to other public officials committed to three core policy principles: 

  • Holding the fossil fuel industry accountable, because those who are most responsible for the climate crisis and its impacts should pay their fair share of its costs.

  • Defending local democracy and access to the courts, because communities facing ongoing and imminent harm deserve the opportunity to seek justice.

  • Putting constituents and their safety and security at the forefront of policy solutions, because taxpayers should not be stuck footing the entire bill for climate adaptation and resilience.

“Our communities face unprecedented and dire threats to our health, economies, and infrastructure as a result of the accelerating climate crisis, and as elected leaders, we are stepping up to do our part to make sure that the corporate polluters responsible for causing this damage are held accountable,” said California State Senator Scott Wiener, one of Leaders for Climate Accountability’s founding members. Senator Wiener represents two communities — San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County — that have filed lawsuits to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for lying about the climate damages caused by their products. Earlier this year, Senator Wiener introduced the Climate Corporate Accountability Act, a first-in-the-nation bill that seeks to hold corporations accountable for their emissions. 

“I am joining Leaders for Climate Accountability because holding polluters and the fossil fuel industry accountable for the harm that they have caused is key to achieving climate justice,” said Philadelphia Councilmember Kendra Brooks, another of the network’s founding members. “Philadelphia’s working class communities of color are among those most harmed by extreme weather events and environmental hazards, and they should not be asked to foot the bill for the deleterious impacts of the climate crisis. It’s time that we stand up to corporations that put profit over the health and safety of our constituents.”

The new effort is being facilitated by the Center for Climate Integrity, a nonprofit that works to help communities hold corporate polluters accountable for the massive costs of climate change. 

“Just like the fight against Big Tobacco a generation ago, the nationwide movement to hold Big Oil accountable for the damages of climate change will require legal, legislative, community, and educational efforts to succeed,” said Richard Wiles, executive director of the Center for Climate Integrity. “By putting their constituents first and fighting for their communities, these leaders can play a crucial role in holding Big Oil accountable for causing and lying about the climate crisis.” 

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Leaders for Climate Accountability is a national network of public officials who support holding corporate polluters accountable for their outsized role in creating and perpetuating the climate crisis. For more information, visit L4CA.org

 

The network is launching this week with the following founding members:

Arizona
Councilmember Lauren Kuby, Tempe
Representative Athena Salman, District 26
Senator Juan Mendez, District 26

California
Mayor Tom Butt, Richmond
Mayor Serge Dedina, Imperial Beach
Senator Scott Wiener, District 11

Illinois
Councilmember Kim Stone, Highland Park
Alderman Matt Martin, Ward 47, Chicago
Representative Ann Williams, District 11

Kentucky
Representative Attica Scott, District 41

Maryland
Delegate Dana Stein, District 11
Delegate Vaughn Stewart, District 19
Delegate Lorig Charkoudian, District 20
Delegate Jen Terrasa, District 13

Massachusetts
Councilmember Patricia Nolan, Cambridge
Councilmember Quinton Zondervan, Cambridge
Councilmember Katjana Ballantyne, Somerville
Senator Patricia Jehlen, 2nd Middlesex District

Michigan
Commissioner Jason Morgan, District 8, Washtenaw County
Commissioner Dwight Washington, District 6, Clinton County
Representative Mari Manoogian, District 40
Representative Abdullah Hammoud, District 15
Representative Yousef Rabhi, District 53
Senator Jeff Irwin, District 18

Minnesota
Councilmember Larry Kraft, At-large, St. Louis Park

North Carolina
Representative Deborah Butler, District 18
Representative Ricky Hurtado, District 63
Representative Pricey Harrison, District 61
Representative Graig Meyer, District 50
Representative Julie von Haefen, District 36
Representative Marcia Morey, District 30
Representative Susan Fisher, District 114
Representative Rachel Hunt, District 103
Senator Julie Mayfield, District 49
Senator Michael Garrett, District 27
Senator Natasha Marcus, District 41
Senator DeAndrea Salvador, District 39

New Jersey
Councilmember Laurie Huryk, Ward 3, Toms River
Council President John Weber, Bradley Beach
Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick, At-large, Atlantic County
Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Hoboken

New Mexico
Councilor Gill Sorg, District 5, Las Cruces
Commissioner Anna Hansen, District 2, Santa Fe County

New York
Senator Alessandra Biaggi, District 34

Oregon
Councilor Jason Clark, Talent
Councilor Christine Lewis, District 2, Metro Council
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, Portland
Mayor Mark Gamba, Milwaukie
Representative Marty Wilde, District 11

Pennsylvania
Councilmember Kendra Brooks, Philadelphia
Councilmember Jamie R. Gauthier, Philadelphia
Representative Leanne Krueger, District 161
Representative Emily Kinkead, District 20
Senator Tim Kearney, District 26
Senator Nikil Saval, District 1

Rhode Island
Councilor John Donegan, District 3, Cranston
Representative Terri-Denise Cortvriend, District 72

Texas
Commissioner Brigid Shea, Travis County

Washington
Councilmember Lisa Parshley, Position 5, Olympia
Councilmember Ryan Mello, District 4, Pierce County
Councilmember Jani Hitchen, District 6, Pierce County
Chairman Derek Young, District 7, Pierce County
Councilmember Jared Mead, District 4, Snohomish County
Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, District 34
Representative Alex Ramel, District 40
Representative Davina Duerr, District 1

Wisconsin
Alderman Max Prestigiacomo, District 8, Madison
Assemblymember Greta Neubauer, District 66

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