(Inside California Politics) \u2014 One year after deadly fires ravaged parts of Southern California, a lawmaker wants to make fossil fuel companies pay for soaring insurance costs from climate-linked disasters.<\/p>\n
A new bill from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would allow the state to sue major oil and gas companies that are linked to climate change. The money from those lawsuits would help recoup money for survivors of tragedies like the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires.<\/p>\n
\u201cShift the cost of the climate crisis off the backs of Californians and onto the fossil fuel companies that recklessly pushed us to this unbelievably unsustainable place as a state,\u201d Wiener said Thursday at a news conference.<\/p>\n
Senate Bill 982, titled the Affordable Insurance Recovery Act, would let the California Attorney General sue major fossil fuel companies for costs associated with climate disasters \u2014 including rising insurance costs.<\/p>\n
The bill would direct that money into a fund that would help people like Rasheed Ali, who survived the Eaton fire. Last January, the fire tore through his Altadena neighborhood and destroyed the house he and his wife owned for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur house was gone, our cars were gone,\u201d Ali said. \u201cAll of our neighbors were gone. Our entire neighborhood was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ali said he has committed to rebuilding, but the insurance process and associated costs are astronomical.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat fire victims need is money,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very challenging to get the money from insurance companies even though we\u2019ve been paying premiums for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Western States Petroleum Association blasted Wiener\u2019s bill, calling it a \u201cpolitical stunt that will kill jobs and increase costs for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf these legislators are serious about this issue, they should practice what they preach and walk between Sacramento and their districts,\u201d the trade association said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Asm. Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, said Wiener\u2019s bill unfairly scapegoats the oil industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey point the finger at someone people don\u2019t like: Donald Trump, oil companies,\u201d he said. \u201cThe real problem here are the politicians that have created the cost of living crisis we\u2019re suffering under.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ali believes Wiener has the right idea on how to help recover from natural disasters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overall issue [stems from] countless weather events,\u201d Ali said. \u201cWe know that blame falls on the fossil fuel companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
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