A New York Democrat's bill aimed at imposing pollution fees on oil and gas companies could result in regressive costs for working families in the state, energy and economics experts tell Fox News. told Digital.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law the Climate Change Superfund Act, which charges polluters up to $75 billion for pollution from 2000 to 2018.
The money will reportedly be used to fund projects to rebuild infrastructure damaged by years of weather.
The bill aims to impose fines on large corporations, but some economists say such measures would lead to higher prices for some New Yorkers.
“It's heartwarming to see Governor Hochul finally acknowledge what energy advocates have long understood: that the best way for humanity to thrive is to adapt to a changing climate. Sign this bill! In doing so, she has effectively endorsed that philosophy, albeit in the most counterproductive way possible,” Jason Isaac, CEO and founder of the American Energy Association, told Fox News. – stated in a statement shared with Digital.
“Instead of encouraging innovation, this bill would impose billions of dollars in new costs on energy producers and punish the very industry that keeps New Yorkers light and warm,” Isaac continued. “The real tragedy here is not just rising energy costs for working families; we are watching businesses and residents flee a state that refuses to adapt its bloated policies to economic realities. Noda.”
“As a result, energy costs will rise for households, families and small businesses in one of the most expensive states in the country,” said Trisha Curtis, an economist at the American Energy Association. “Without a plan to address the broader economic impact, this legislation will drive people, businesses, and state revenue out of New York and into other, more competitive states.”
O.H. Skinner is executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, a Phoenix-based nonprofit organization that works to ensure that consumer protection efforts, class actions, and the Attorney General's enforcement actions are consistent with the rule of law. I'm working on doing that.
He is also a member of the Federalist Society, based in Washington, DC.
Skinner called the bill “the latest attempt by New York's left-wing politicians to eliminate reliable energy production and force everyone to make the progressive lifestyle choices they prefer.”
“This policy does nothing but raise energy prices for hard-working Americans and lower our standard of living,” Skinner told Fox. “If you do that, you're patting yourself on the butt.”
“Whether it's charging citizens to drive into their cities, banning new gas appliances, or imposing huge new taxes that will inevitably lead to significant increases in energy prices. “Hardly a day goes by that the New York State government does not implement ESG policies. People's lives are quantifiably worse off,” said Will Hild, Director of Consumer Research.
FOX News contributor David Webb said the bill “will cost New Yorkers.”
“If you're an energy company, you're already guilty. “They're going to spend the next 10 years deciding how they're going to charge you,” Webb told “Fox & Friends First,” adding that Hochul He called him “a far-left governor bound by this ideology.” ”
But supporters praised the bill, which would require companies to pay for fossil fuel pollution in the state.
“By signing the Climate Superfund Act, Governor Hochul is addressing the economic burden that fossil fuel companies are placing on New Yorkers,” said the New York State Government of Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental organization. said Director Richard Schroeder. “This is an important example of what it looks like to put fiscal equity and environmental justice at the forefront.”
A total of 38 companies deemed to be carbon polluters will reportedly be arrested, including US oil giants Exxon and Chevron, and UK companies Shell and BP.
Vermont remains the only state to adopt a similar bill.
The bill comes just weeks after Hochul announced plans to pay up to $840 to New Yorkers who replace their washing machines with environmentally friendly alternatives.
