Congress proposes $100B annual tax on fossil fuel companies for climate adaptation
S. 25 — Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025 · Filed by Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill would impose an annual $100 billion tax on fossil fuel companies based on their historical carbon emissions, with the revenue directed to a new 'Polluters Pay Climate Fund' to pay for climate adaptation, resilience, and disaster recovery. The tax is calculated using peer-reviewed science to attribute specific shares of atmospheric CO2 to individual companies' operations and products.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a direct tax on fossil fuel companies proportional to their historical emissions, explicitly framed as making polluters fund climate adaptation rather than taxpayers bearing the cost.
What the text implies
- The tax applies to 'current stock of greenhouse gas emissions' — the text excerpt cuts off before clarifying whether this covers only ongoing operations or includes legacy/historical emissions already in the atmosphere, which could dramatically affect the tax base and company liability.
- The bill states the $100B annual assessment 'represents only a small portion' of climate costs ($150B+ annually in extreme weather alone), suggesting future legislative pressure to increase the rate or expand the tax base.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
climate adaptation and resilience contractors; renewable energy and clean infrastructure firms; disaster recovery and mitigation service providers