Connecticut
Opinion: CT needs a climate superfund, and it needs one now
The principle behind the Climate Superfund is simple: we must make fossil fuel companies pay for the climate damage they have created, rather than leaving those costs to our neighbors and families.
Without a Climate Superfund, Connecticut will continue to build financial burdens from climate change, including disaster relief, infrastructure repairs, and public health costs that will disproportionately impact low-income and vulnerable communities.
Critics of the Climate Superfund often raise the concern: won’t the fee to fossil fuel companies simply be passed along to residents in the form of higher energy bills? That’s an important question to address, and one that several economists have already answered.
As Nobel Prize–winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explained in a letter to New York’s governor, the Climate Superfund fee is based on companies’ past pollution, not their current production. That means it’s considered a fixed cost, which is something oil companies can’t simply pass on to consumers without risking their profits. In other words, this policy makes polluters pay their fair share for the damage they’ve already done without raising gas prices for the rest of us.
Additionally, the global prices of crude oil is set through supply and demand in a global market. Even large fossil fuel companies cannot raise pump prices in Connecticut without losing market competitiveness or incentivizing consumers to change behavior.
In New York, the Climate Superfund bill will raise $3 billion annually over 25 years without increasing energy costs to residents. When similar settlements have occurred, including the federal Superfund law for toxic waste, there was no evidence of increased costs for customers.
The Climate Superfund will advance clean, affordable energy in Connecticut. Many households, especially in low-income communities, already spend a disproportionately large share of their income on utilities. A superfund can increase the state’s capacity for financial aid, such as utility assistance to alleviate energy poverty. Additionally, if funds from the climate superfund are directed towards retrofits, weatherization, and clean heating technology in low-income communities, this could help lower long-term energy costs and reduce energy burdens.
The Climate Superfund should be designed to provide stronger governance in how funds should be spent including prioritized funding for environmental justice neighborhoods and community engagement in project selection. This helps advance “energy democracy,” where communities have a voice in how funds are spent and can shape their local energy systems.
Some communities in Connecticut are disproportionately impacted by sea-level rise, flooding, heat waves, and storm damage, including those communities with older infrastructure, coastal neighborhoods, and low-income populations. A Climate Superfund recognizes these inequities and seeks to remediate historic harms by directing resources to mitigation, adaptation, and resilience projects that keep people safe and help our communities thrive.
Opponents to the Climate Superfund believe that this is a tax that will impact consumers and businesses. However, these claims are based on the assumption that firms can freely pass these costs onto energy users. This has not been shown in existing superfund models.
Additionally, some critics argue that this bill is not constitutional since the government cannot retroactively charge companies after the fact. However, long-standing ‘polluter pays’ principles in U.S. law have been upheld in court, including the federal superfund law (CERCLA) that has followed this model for toxic waste sites since the 1980s. Additionally, the superfund is not a ‘punishment,’ but rather a cost recovery mechanism to fix public harms from climate damages, and it is proportional based on each company’s share of historic greenhouse gas emissions.
Connecticut is already paying for climate change through storm and flood costs, infrastructure damage, and public health impacts like asthma. These costs fall most heavily on taxpayers, especially households that already face high financial burdens.
The Climate Superfund provides an alternative to make polluters pay, not residents. If Connecticut acts now by passing this state legislation, we can build more climate-resilient towns and cities without increasing environmental burdens to those that can least afford them.
Join our efforts by signing our petition at act.sierraclub.org and urge our state leaders to pass a Climate Superfund.
Sydney Collins is an environmental activist in New Haven.
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Connecticut
Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027
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Florida high school state bronze medalist Dajah German has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2027. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:
I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Connecticut! I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have pushed me to be my best throughout the years. And a very special thank you to Coach Chris and Coach Nicole for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. GO HUSKIES!
A rising senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida, German trains year-round with Swim Fort Lauderdale and primarily specializes in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.
German has improved each year of her high school career, most recently dropping from 23.78, 51.39, and 1:50.56 in the 50/100/200 free to 23.54, 51.35, and 1:49.69 during the 2025-26 short course season.
German’s top meet of the season was the Florida Senior Championships in March, where she recorded her current PBs in both the 50 and 200 free. She finished second in the 500 free (4:55.94) and 1650 free (17:02.78), third in both the 50 free and 200 free, and fifth in the 100 free (51.43). She set her current 100 free PB at a smaller holiday meet in December. In the 500 free, she clocked a season-best 4:55.21 at the Speedo Cup in January, with her lifetime best of 4:53.19 coming at the 2025 Florida Senior Championships.
German has qualified for the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Championships for the past three years, with her top performance coming at the 2025 iteration in November. She placed third in the 50 free (23.96), fifth in the 500 free (5:01.12), and helped Fort Lauderdale to fourth place in both the 200 free relay (24.64 leadoff) and 400 free relay (53.08 anchor).
Top SCY Times:
- 50 Freestyle: 23.54
- 100 Freestyle: 51.35
- 200 Freestyle: 1:49.69
- 500 Freestyle: 4:53.19
A Division I Mid-Major program, Connecticut competes in the Big East, with the women’s team placing second out of seven teams at this past season’s conference championships. German’s current lifetime bests would have placed third in the 200 free, fourth in the 500 free, eighth in the 50 free, and ninth in the 100 free, setting her up as an immediate contributor with two full seasons of training still ahead before her first conference meet.
German joins Anna Mumford, Lyla Devlin, Lena Brown, and Louisa Holda in committing to the Huskies’ class of 2031 so far.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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Here are the forecast details for northern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 80. Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: A chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 59. Southeast wind around 8 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
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