The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025 imposes a $1 trillion tax on major fossil fuel companies based on their carbon emissions from 2000 to 2023, with payment due by September 2026 (or spread over nine annual installments). The bill creates a dedicated Polluters Pay Climate Fund managed by the Treasury Secretary in consultation with the EPA and other agencies to distribute these revenues for climate resilience, adaptation, disaster response, and environmental justice initiatives. The law requires minimum annual allocations of $15 billion to FEMA for climate disaster response and $6 billion for clean air grants, with at least 40 percent of total annual appropriations directed to environmental justice communities, communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal and Indigenous communities. The bill preserves existing legal rights, allowing states, communities, and individuals to continue filing climate-related lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and preventing the fund from being used to offset court judgments. The legislation does not override or preempt state or local climate laws.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.