Lawmakers in next session should make ‘fossil fuel culprits’ pay
RV-Rimes Guest Column January 28th 2026, Alan Journet and Gary Clarida on behalf of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now
In terms of wildfire risk causation, the decades-long policy of fire exclusion combined with a shift between warm dry periods and cool moist periods has now been superseded by a climate influenced primarily by global warming. This greatly increases the risk that our communities and natural landscapes will be destroyed fire. The cost of managing the risk has strained budgets in Oregon and across the West. Indeed, balancing the rising cost of wildfire management against other pressing needs of Oregonians has been a recurring topic in recent legislative sessions. While progress has been made, a completely satisfactory solution has yet to emerge. We argue that the bill creating a Climate Resilience Superfund offers a path forward.
It is well understood that the greatest source of climate pollution in the atmosphere that drives global warming is burning fossil fuels. This is probably the greatest reason for our increasing wildfire risk. Fossil fuel corporations have, since establishment, evaded responsibility for the consequences of their products. This is neither an accident nor inadvertent oversite. They have known for decades about the climate impacts of their business model. They chose, instead, to use the big tobacco model and pursue short-term profit by confusing public understanding of their complicity in destructive events such as wildfires. By requiring fossil fuel culprits to pay for the damage they have imposed on Oregon, this bill represents a good start toward rectifying that inequity.
A 2012 study covering some 3,000 years related area burned in western forests to climatic conditions and demonstrated a marked correlation between the two. Regrettably, this same study shows that the western states are now experiencing a profound fire deficit meaning that according to recent climatic conditions, we should be experiencing far greater area burned annually than is the case. Climate is undeniably a dominant force driving our recent increasing fire risk.
In addition to the obvious devastation that fires have imposed on Southern Oregonian families, managing fires costs the states billions of dollars: the 2021 heatwave is estimated to have cost Oregonians at least $1.3 billion dollars and caused over 100 deaths; in 2024 alone, climate-fueled fires burned nearly 2 million acres and cost Oregon over $350 million in firefighting alone. Meanwhile, the 2025 fire season cost the state some $97 million by the end of August; These costs are currently borne by taxpayers. Yet, the driving force stimulating fire conditions is largely the combustion of fossil fuels. In the business arena, the principle of generating corporate profits while imposing the cost on society as a whole is termed ‘externalizing the cost of doing business.’
The question is: should those earning profits from a business model that imposes damage to, and costs on, society pay the price, or should those suffering the damage pay the price? This seems a no-brainer! Southern Oregonians suffering fire damage should not be expected to pay for the direct devastation that these fires impose on them as well as the price of fighting the fires. Since the Oregon treasury is increasingly unable to cover the cost, we argue they should be paid by the corporations profiting from the product that increases fire risk. The bill demands fossil fuel corporations pay into a fund that covers the cost of fighting the fires and reducing the likelihood that future devastating fires will occur. Thirty percent of the funds generated will be allocated to the State Fire Marshal for wildfire management while the remainder will be used for projects promoting climate resilience and adaptation with 40% specifically allocated to benefit environmental justice communities.
Essentially, the bill requires fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share for past damages arising from climate change from 1995-2024.
Everyone can sign the support petition at: https://secure.everyaction.com/sfH2Bv-sIkubLfbfAXEtSg2 Opponents of this bill should develop a mechanism for generating funds necessary to manage wildfires in Oregon that isn’t imposed on low- and mid-income Oregonians.
