San Mateo – Today, by a 5-0 vote San Mateo County unanimously passed a resolution in support of a California Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act. San Mateo residents, led by youth advocates, attended the hearing to show support and call for the Board of Supervisors to pass the resolution.

San Mateo County joins twenty-four other cities and counties – including Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma counties – in support of making polluters pay. In addition, over 100 local elected officials across the state have endorsed the Superfund, which would make major fossil fuel polluters pay their fair share for the costs of climate damages in California.

“We are deeply grateful to Supervisor Speier and Supervisor Gauthier for bringing this important resolution to San Mateo County and to the Board for passing it,” said Natalie Dias, a San Mateo High School student working to re-introduce the Polluters Pay bill. “This is a big step in holding Big Oil responsible for polluting our air and our environment.”

“Make Polluters Pay represents an extremely unique opportunity for ordinary people to put our foot down against the ever-present threat of climate change, while also attaining much-deserved justice for all the environmental damage caused by these fossil fuel companies in California,” said Liam Hroziencik, a Cañada College student.

Youth climate activists have played a large role in building momentum in support of the Polluters Pay bill. Last October, thousands of students from more than 50 California middle schools, high schools, and colleges walked out of class in a coordinated statewide action demanding oil and gas companies be held financially accountable for the damage fueled by their pollution.

“With the Board’s adoption of this resolution, we are better positioned to get our cities to follow their lead,” said Nancy Tierney, a local resident and climate advocate. “And importantly, we in San Mateo County along with other jurisdictions in California are demonstrating to the legislature the importance of a state Climate Superfund Act.”

“This resolution is consistent with the County’s earlier action to sue 37 fossil fuel companies for damages from sea level rise,” said Carlos Davidson, a member of the Pacifica Climate Committee. “That suit said the companies knew about sea level rise, denied the reality of it publically, all the while they were re-tooling their own infrastructure to deal with rising seas.”

“We applaud the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for listening to their constituents – and the youth in San Mateo, across the Bay Area and across the state – who want polluters to be held accountable,” said Food & Water Watch Northern California Organizer Isabel Penman. “We now look forward to our state leaders taking up this important bill in January.”

The Polluter Pay Climate Superfund Act would make major polluters pay their fair share of the skyrocketing costs of climate disasters like wildfires, floods, and extreme heat. It is expected to be re-introduced in the state legislature in January of 2027.