# The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act: What It Actually Does

This bill creates a one-time tax on major fossil fuel companies to fund climate disaster recovery and resilience projects across the country. Specifically, it requires large oil, coal, and natural gas companies to pay a combined $100 billion based on their historical carbon emissions from 2000 to 2022. The money goes into a new "Polluters Pay Climate Fund" that would be used for things like rebuilding after hurricanes and floods, making infrastructure more resistant to extreme weather, and helping communities prepare for climate impacts.

The tax applies only to companies responsible for more than one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions during that 23-year period—essentially the largest fossil fuel producers and refiners in the world. Companies can pay the full amount by September 2025, or they can spread payments over nine years if they choose. The bill specifically says this tax doesn't prevent people or communities from suing these companies for climate-related damages in regular courts, and it doesn't count as an admission of fault by the companies.

The fund money would be distributed across several priorities. At least $15 billion per year would go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster response and resilience programs, with at least $3 billion specifically for helping communities build back better after disasters. Another $6 billion per year would support air quality and environmental health programs. Importantly, 40 percent of all fund money must benefit "environmental justice communities"—neighborhoods with significant populations of color, low-income residents, or Indigenous peoples that face disproportionate climate impacts. The remaining money would support climate adaptation efforts like protecting water systems, making farms more resilient to extreme weather, strengthening the power grid, and protecting ecosystems.