Summary:

• Extreme weather is getting worse in NJ. All of us are going to be affected one way or another.
• From climate attribution science, we know the largest fossil fuel corporations that are most responsible. The NJ Climate Superfund Act (S2338) will require the largest fossil fuel corporations to contribute to a fund to help NJ prepare and adapt to worsening extreme weather.
• So far, dozens of legislators have signed on as co-sponsors. NY and Vermont have already passed similar legislation. Sign this petition to urge that our South Jersey legislators in Legislative District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties) – Senator John J. Burzichelli, Assemblyman David Bailey Jr., and Assemblywoman Heather Simmons – also support the Climate Superfund Act. The bill has been stuck in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee, of which respectively Bailey and Simmons are members.

For the past few years, we’ve seen extreme events get worse in New Jersey – from hurricanes, wildfires, to extreme rainfall and flooding. Just this past summer, NJ declared a State of Emergency in July 2025 with flash floods and heavy rainfall.

At a time when the federal government is gutting key programs and agencies like the EPA, NOAA, and FEMA that help us prepare and respond to extreme disasters, funding for climate adaptation is even more crucial.

Fortunately, the advancing field of climate attribution science can now pinpoint how much a particular disaster was made worse by climate change and the major fossil fuel corporations that are most responsible.

The NJ Climate Superfund Act (S3545​ / A4696) will require the largest fossil fuel corporations – those responsible for more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 1995 and 2025 – contribute to a fund based on the proportional damage their emissions have caused to the State and residents during that period. The fund will be allocated through grants for climate adaptation projects such as:

• Flood protection projects
• Electric grid and stormwater drainage upgrades
• Energy efficiency improvements
• Other climate adaptation initiatives to respond to, avoid, moderate, repair, or adapt to negative impacts caused by climate change

New York and Vermont have already passed Climate Superfund legislation, and it’s time that New Jersey gets its fair share. The bill already has dozens of co-sponsors in the State Senate and General Assembly and at least 50 supporting municipal resolutions, including both Swedesboro and Woolwich. 74% of adults in New Jersey believe that corporations should do more to address global warming.

However, as of now, our state legislators in NJ’s Legislative District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem county)  – Senator John J. Burzichelli, Assemblyman David Bailey Jr., and Assemblywoman Heather Simmons – have yet to sign on as co-sponsors.

Sign this petition to urge that these state legislators co-sponsor and pass the Climate Superfund Act to help our communities prepare and respond to worsening climate disasters.