Lawmakers hear broad support for "polluters-pay" climate superfund to fund adaptation, with 40% for environmental‑justice communities

BOSTON — Lawmakers and scores of witnesses on Tuesday told the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources that the state should adopt a “polluters‑pay” climate adaptation fund that would require the largest fossil‑fuel companies to finance repairs and resilience work for harms linked to greenhouse‑gas emissions.

The bill before the committee, H.1014 / S.588, would charge an assessment based on historical emissions and deposit proceeds into a Climate Change Adaptation Superfund to pay for projects including coastal protection, wetland restoration, urban tree canopy, transit resilience, and building weatherization. Proponents told the panel the plan would direct 40% of funds to environmental‑justice communities.

Supporters said Massachusetts faces urgent local costs as federal funding has become less reliable and that attribution science can produce a transparent way to determine each company’s fair share. “The principle of polluters pay is very simple,” Representative Steven Owens told the committee. “Those who make a mess should be the ones who clean it up.”

Why it matters

Witnesses described mounting local damage and shrinking outside aid. Representative Owens and Senate sponsor Jamie Eldridge framed the bill as a cost‑recovery mechanism — not an ongoing carbon tax — and cited examples of storm and flood damage that have already strained municipal budgets. “We have the opportunity to join states like Vermont and New York in enacting legislation that holds companies accountable and funds climate adaptation efforts,” Eldridge said.

How the bill would work

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