Putting Communities Before Profits

Written by: Gina Ramos, Clean Energy Consultant

For Black, Brown, and Latino communities across New Jersey, climate change is not an abstract issue or a future concern. It is something people live with every day — in flooded basements, unsafe housing conditions, extreme heat, power outages, and rising costs that make it harder to stay rooted in the places we call home.

These impacts are not accidental. Generations of disinvestment, redlining, and discriminatory land-use decisions have placed our communities in areas most vulnerable to climate harm. When storms intensify or heat becomes unbearable, the consequences fall hardest on those who already face economic and health inequities. Families are left to clean up, rebuild, and absorb costs they did not create.

The Climate Superfund Act, also known as the Polluters Pay for a More Affordable New Jersey Act, speaks directly to this reality.

At its heart, this policy is about community care and fairness. It shifts the cost of climate damage away from residents and onto the corporations that caused it. Instead of asking working families to pay more through taxes or utility bills, it creates a pathway to fund repairs, protection, and resilience in the neighborhoods most impacted.

For our communities, this means relief. It means resources to address flooding that repeatedly displaces families. It means safer infrastructure, healthier living conditions, and protection from climate impacts that threaten housing stability and affordability. It means recognizing that climate harm is not just environmental — it is economic, social, and deeply personal.

Just as important is how this moment came to be. The progress of the Climate Superfund Act reflects the power of community leadership. Black, Brown, and Latino organizers, youth leaders, and residents showed up — testified, waited, spoke, and demanded to be heard. This movement was built by people who understand that solutions must come from those most affected.

While this bill did not pass this Lame Duck Session, the advancement of this bill represents something real: acknowledgment. It acknowledges the harm our communities have endured. It acknowledges that accountability matters. And it acknowledges that a safer, more affordable future is possible when communities are centered in decision-making.

The Climate Superfund Act is not just about policy. It is about protecting our homes, honoring our resilience, and ensuring that our communities are not left to pay the price for a crisis they did not cause.