The North Bergen Board of Commissioners unanimously approved (5-0) a resolution last week supporting the New Jersey Climate Superfund Act.
“With New Jersey communities still recovering from increasingly severe storms, flooding, and high winds that claimed several lives and caused millions of dollars in damage this past summer, this bill aims to shift the financial burden of climate recovery and preparedness from taxpayers to the fossil fuel companies most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions,” Mayor Nick Sacco said in a statement.
“North Bergen has seen firsthand how damaging extreme weather can be, from flooding to storm damage that affects families, businesses, and public infrastructure. It’s time for the corporations that knowingly contributed to this crisis to pay their fair share.”
If enacted, the Climate Superfund Act would direct the state treasurer to assess the costs of climate-related damages and require major emitters to compensate New Jersey for those expenses.
The funds, potentially totaling $1 to $2 billion per year, would be used for critical resilience projects such as flood protection, infrastructure repair, and storm mitigation efforts.
The Board’s resolution aligns North Bergen with a growing number of New Jersey municipalities calling on the state legislature to pass the Climate Superfund Act.
Similar laws have already been enacted in Vermont and New York, and several other states are considering comparable measures.