From Classrooms to Capitols: A Week Demanding Accountability
An inside scoop of the Make Polluters Pay Week of Action
Climate change is not something waiting for us in the future. For millions of families, it is already shaping daily life through higher insurance bills, rising utility costs, flooded roads, closed schools, and budgets stretched thin. For others, the damage is far more severe, with homes lost, health problems that linger, and lives cut short. This is not a warning about what might happen someday. The costs are already here, and people are paying them now.
That reality fueled the Make Polluters Pay Week of Action last week, when advocates, students, lawmakers, workers, faith leaders, and community organizers across the country took coordinated action to demand fossil fuel accountability. We wanted to kick off the 2026 legislative session with a clear message that taxpayers should not be the first line of defense against fossil fuel pollution.
The Week of Action also took place during a time of deep community strain and tragedy as ICE continued its reign of terror in Minnesota and beyond. Many organizers drew connections between the same systems that fail to protect communities from environmental harm and those that wield unchecked force against immigrants. We stand with all those calling for accountability, justice, and the right of every community to live with safety and dignity.
Despite this backdrop of grief and unrest, the Make Polluters Pay movement showed up in force. Over the course of the week, there were 37 events across 14 states, multiple large virtual gatherings, and participation from hundreds of organizations and thousands of people. From state capitols to classrooms, rallies to potlucks, the actions reflected both the scale of the climate crisis and the breadth of support for climate superfund laws.
In California, high school students who lost homes or schools in the LA fires spoke publicly about what climate disasters mean when you’re young and have no control over the bills that follow. Youth organizers in San Diego delivered petitions urging lawmakers to support a Climate Superfund bill, while communities gathered for forums, panels, banner drops, and grassroots outreach from Santa Barbara to the Bay Area.
In Maine, more than 50 people filled the State House for a press conference and gathering that stretched from the House chambers to the Senate, displaying photos residents had taken of climate disasters across the state. The action came as lawmakers advanced a climate superfund bill that would finally require fossil fuel companies to help pay for the damage they’ve caused.
In Illinois, the fight for climate accountability spilled onto the streets outside BP’s Chicago headquarters, where advocates rallied and demanded action. Inside the statehouse, lawmakers responded by introducing a Climate Superfund bill.
In Connecticut, advocates rallied at the Capitol beneath the now-infamous Big Oil balloon, continuing its steady tour through statehouses as calls for polluter accountability grow. A wave of op-eds reinforced the message that residents are already paying for climate damage, just not fairly.
Similar actions unfolded in New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Colorado, Washington, Maryland, Texas, and beyond. Organizers held lobby visits, petition deliveries, community dinners, online trainings, and statewide kickoff calls with hundreds of participants. Faith groups, health professionals, labor allies, and environmental justice organizations all brought their communities into the fight, reinforcing that climate accountability and affordability can no longer sit on the sidelines of policy.
From public radio to local newspapers, national press to personal op-eds, the story was the same: communities are paying billions for climate damage, and voters increasingly agree that fossil fuel companies should be held responsible.
The Make Polluters Pay Week of Action showed what it looks like when people across the country refuse to accept a system where corporations profit and the public pays. It showed a movement that is organized, growing, and ready to govern.
Big Oil accountability isn’t some fringe idea. It’s what kids are walking out of school for. It’s what concerned community members are rallying in the freezing cold for. It’s a governing priority, and this week made that unmistakably clear.
Join us in this fight! Check out our website, follow us on social, sign our petition, and subscribe to our Substack to stay in the loop. Every action counts — let’s make polluters pay!