“A bill to impose an assessment related to fossil fuel emissions, to establish the Polluter Pay Climate Fund, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings that (1) climate change, driven primarily by fossil fuel combustion, poses an immediate threat to U.S. communities, environment, and economy, with annual extreme weather costs of at least $150 billion disproportionately affecting underserved communities; (2) trillions of dollars in new investments are needed over the decade after enactment for protective measures and resilience, including for vulnerable communities such as communities of color, low-income areas, and Tribal and Indigenous communities; and (3) fossil fuel companies will be assessed $100 billion annually for the Polluters Pay Climate Fund established in this Act—representing a small portion of total federal costs—and that such assessments are informed by research attributing specific carbon dioxide emissions to companies, without constituting a determination of fault or affecting other accountability efforts.
This section establishes a $1 trillion tax on assessable persons (generally, U.S. persons or those engaged in a U.S. trade or business through 2025 that extracted fossil fuels or refined crude oil and are responsible for more than 1 billion metric tons of covered carbon dioxide emissions during 2000-2023), with each person's liability equal to their pro rata share of the total tax based on their excess emissions over 1 billion metric tons relative to all such excess emissions. Covered emissions are determined using specified conversion factors (e.g., 942.5 metric tons of CO2 per 1 million pounds of coal, 432,180 metric tons per 1 million barrels of crude oil, 54,440 metric tons per 1 billion cubic feet of fuel gases). The tax is due by September 30, 2026, with an election to pay in nine annual installments (20% initially, 10% each thereafter). (Thus, controlled groups are treated as a single assessable person, with joint and several liability.)
This section establishes the Polluters Pay Climate Fund as a trust fund in the Treasury under new IRC §9512, to consist of amounts appropriated or credited equivalent to taxes received under new IRC §4691, with expenditures available as provided in appropriations Acts. The section directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the EPA Administrator and other agency heads, to use amounts in the Fund each fiscal year for climate resilience, adaptation, disaster response, and environmental justice investments (e.g., disaster recovery and mitigation; climate-resilient infrastructure, energy systems, food systems, transportation, ecosystems, public health, and drinking water/stormwater infrastructure), including specified minimum funding of not less than $15 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for climate-related disaster response and resilience programs—including hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires—of which not less than $3 billion is for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program under Stafford Act §203 (42 U.S.C. 5133) (i.e., predisaster technical and financial assistance to states and local governments for cost-effective hazard mitigation measures to reduce injuries, loss of life, and property damage); and not less than $6 billion for Clean Air Act §138 grants and technical assistance (42 U.S.C. 7438). Of amounts appropriated from the Fund each fiscal year, 40% must benefit environmental justice communities (i.e., communities of color, low-income, or Tribal/Indigenous communities experiencing disproportionate climate impacts), with selection criteria prioritizing highest-impact projects.
This section provides that nothing in the Act or its amendments relieves any person from liability under common law or state or federal law. It further specifies that nothing in the Act, its amendments, the Clean Air Act, or federal common law preempts, displaces, or restricts any state or local law remedies (including common law) related to (1) deception concerning fossil fuels' effects on climate change; (2) damage from fossil fuels' role in climate change; or (3) failure to avoid climate change-related damage or injury (e.g., nuisance, trespass, design defect, negligence, failure to warn, or deceptive practices). Finally, it prohibits requiring repayment of funds from the Polluter Pays Climate Change Fund (established under IRC §9512) used pursuant to section 4(b) due to court awards on such claims and bars using those funds as evidence or to offset damages.
This section provides that nothing in this Act or its amendments preempts or supersedes any state or local law, regulation, policy, or program, including those that (1) limit, set, or enforce greenhouse gas emissions standards; (2) monitor, report, or keep records of greenhouse gas emissions; (3) provide cost recovery for climate adaptation, mitigation, or resilience; or (4) conduct or support investigations.