Handing Taxpayers The Climate Cleanup Bill

In states across the country, lawmakers face a daunting budget question: Who should pay to deal with the climate mess created by the fossil fuel industry — taxpayers or the industry itself?

In the Democratic stronghold of New York — which requires expensive infrastructure investments to fortify its cities and towns against flooding — environmental advocates say Democratic leaders are about to offer a troubling answer: New York taxpayers should foot the bill, not the party’s fossil fuel industry donors.