October 28, 2025
City Council
DATE: October 28, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez
Subject:
Resolution in support of the Polluters Pay Climate
Superfund Act of 2025 (Senate Bill 684/Assembly
Bill1243)
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact to adopting the resolution.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
The City Council has supported Clean Air initiatives in the past.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
California communities are experiencing accelerating
impacts from the climate crisis—wildfires, floods,
droughts, sea level rise, and extreme heat, which are
harming public health, displacing families, threatening local infrastructure, and burdening city budgets.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution in support of the Polluters Pay
Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (Senate Bill
684/Assembly Bill1243) – Councilmember Claudia
Jimenez (510-620-6565).
DISCUSSION:
In just the past five years, the State has experienced unprecedented and deadly weather events:
AGENDA
REPORT
October 28, 2025
▪ January 2025 Firestorms: Over 12,000 homes, businesses, and institutions burned in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Thirty lives were lost, tens of thousands evacuated, and the destruction is estimated to cost Californians $250 billion.
▪ Record Flooding (2022–2023): Over $4.6 billion in damages. ▪ Wildfire Destruction (2020): More than $19 billion in economic losses. ▪ Camp Fire (2018): One of the most destructive fires in state history, with some cost estimates reaching $148.5 billion.
Meanwhile, residents are paying more for insurance, cooling bills, emergency response, and disaster recovery—costs disproportionately borne by disadvantaged communities.
Studies project California will face at least $113 billion per year in climate costs by 2050.
Despite overwhelming evidence, fossil fuel companies—who knew about the damage their products would cause as early as the 1950s—have evaded responsibility. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act would ensure these corporations contribute to the enormous cost of climate recovery and resilience, and advance the City’s environmental justice, community health, and environmental resiliency goals outlined in the Richmond Climate Action Plan.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Draft Resolution Supporting the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 Attachment 2 – Fact Sheet: Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025