Maine climate protesters oppose legal immunity for fossil fuel industry
People march across Spring Street in Portland on their way to the office of Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, during a "No Immunity for Big Oil" rally, organized by Natural Resources Council of Maine. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
Climate activists rallied in Portland and Lewiston on Thursday to demand federal lawmakers reject a Republican-backed bill that would shield oil and gas companies from lawsuits like the ones that Maine plans to use to pay for climate-related damages.
The federal bill would wipe out Maine’s deceptive practices lawsuit and its pending climate superfund law. If passed, it would force local taxpayers to carry the entire financial burden of storm damage and rising sea levels.
“There’s a lot to be mad about today,” said Josh Caldwell, the climate advocate for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “Major corporations are unaccountable to the American people, destroying our world, destroying the very fabric of our society and destroying our economy.”
Josh Caldwell of Natural Resources Council of Maine leads chants outside the office of Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, in Portland during the “No Immunity for Big Oil” rally on Thursday. (Staff photo by Derek Davis) Purchase this image
At the urging of Caldwell, the opening speaker at the Portland rally, the protesters responded: “Make them pay! Make them pay!” Curious tourists who passed by raised their fists and some passing cars, most of them with out-of-state license plates, honked their horns.
The protests target the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act, which was introduced this year by Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming. The bill would retroactively block all state-level climate lawsuits.
While Vermont and New York have adopted superfund laws meant to collect billions from polluters, the Trump administration has sued Minnesota to halt its lawsuit. Maine broke its climate superfund bill into phases, opting to study climate costs first.
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Bill supporters argue the energy industry must be shielded to protect critical infrastructure, stabilize markets and prevent costly litigation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says policy should be set at the federal level instead of a confusing patchwork of state lawsuits and laws.
Frank Robbins of Portland joins the “No Immunity for Big Oil” rally at Lobsterman’s Park. (Staff photo by Derek Davis) Purchase this image
The noon rally in Portland’s Lobsterman’s Square drew about 50 people. They waved hand-painted signs in front of a giant inflatable oil barrel in the late-August sun, but their bullhorn-fueled chants were drowned out by a nearby nurse’s protest.
One boy carried a handmade sign reading “My future: Alternitive Energy.” A woman held a painted portrait of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins with the word “COMPLICIT” in capital letters painted under her signature pearl necklace.
After a half hour, the group marched to congressional offices in Portland to deliver petitions signed by 1,100 residents. In Lewiston, about two dozen people came out to Dufresne Plaza, turning their “Big Oil, Big Lies” and “Make Polluters Pay” signs toward busy Lisbon Street.
Hallowell resident Greg Fahy came to Lewiston worried about who pays for climate change.
Josh Caldwell, from the Natural Resources Council of Maine, leads a group of protesters marching down Lisbon Street in Lewiston to demand Maine’s federal lawmakers oppose a bill that would give climate immunity to big oil and gas companies on Thursday. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
“I’m really concerned about the fact that Congress is thinking about giving immunity to companies who are polluting, putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, creating global warming, causing all of these wildfires, flooding and all that sort of stuff,” Fahy said.
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“If they get immunity,” Fahy continued, “they’ll not have to cover the costs of that and it’ll come back to us, the taxpayers. We want to make sure the folks who are polluting are also paying for the cleanup.”
Of Maine’s congressional delegation, only Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, was willing to give her position on the proposed legislation. She vowed to vote against it, calling immunity a handout to polluters at the expense of families.
The “No Immunity for Big Oil” rally in Portland on Thursday (Staff photo by Derek Davis) Purchase this image
“Maine families deserve relief from high heating and electricity bills,” Pingree said in a statement. “But immunity for oil and gas companies is not an affordability policy. We should lower costs through energy efficiency and weatherization, reliable clean energy, a modernized grid.”
Sen. Angus King’s office said the Maine independent is reviewing the bill but noted it has not been vetted by the Judiciary Committee. After committee review, King would take a closer look, staff said. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A group of older environmental activists, Third Act Maine, turned out at the Portland rally to protect future generations. Co-facilitator Molly Schen told the crowd that her father, a former Exxon executive, would be horrified by the legacy that his company has left.
“We are here because we refuse to let oil companies rob our grandchildren of their future and leave taxpayers with the bill,” said Schen, who held a climate-stripe flag whose colored vertical bars show long-term warming. “It is a moral duty to stand up for our climate before it’s too late.”
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Advocates said the fight is about justice.
“This is about basic fairness and protecting our communities,” said Sean Mahoney, senior counsel with the Conservation Law Foundation, in Portland. “The oil giants want a free pass, but Maine families shouldn’t have to pay for a mess they didn’t make.”
Sun Journal Staff Writer Mark LaFlamme contributed to this report.
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Tagged: climate, environment, oil, protest, U.S. Congress
Penny is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and. More by Penelope Overton
