Advisory board previews 'Make Polluters Pay' pitch; agrees to draft council letter

Members of the Sustainability Advisory Board previewed a "Make Polluters Pay" slide deck that outlines local climate damages, corporate responsibility, and legislative avenues such as Superfund-style bills and insurance-related measures. The presenter described the slide set as three parts: the costs of climate change to communities, evidence that major fossil-fuel companies bear significant responsibility, and the legislative mechanisms (climate lawsuits, Superfund-style bills, insurance reform) that could recover funds for resilience programs.

The presenter asked the board to help localize the slides with West Linn-specific examples. "Those costs are being paid at the local level, draining state [and] city budgets," they said, urging members to propose local impacts the slides should cite (for example, higher insurance rates, wildfire cleanup costs, and possible cooling-center needs). The board discussed whether the campaign targets only the largest fossil-fuel companies (yes), and learned that Vermont and New York passed statutes that have been subject to litigation; the presenter said litigation is expected if Oregon follows suit.

Members agreed it would be useful to ask the city council to hear a short, five-minute presentation and to prepare a letter of support. The presenter volunteered to draft a template letter and said they would check with campaign organizers about sharing the slide deck before distributing it. The board added drafting and review of the letter as an action item and planned to consider the draft at the August meeting.