More than 40 U.S. cities and states have sued oil companies in recent years, attempting to recover the costs of climate-related weather disasters and mitigation measures. Eleven states have passed “climate superfund laws” with the same goal.

President Trump calls these actions “ideologically motivated” and has told the Justice Department to fight them. He also wants to eliminate federal disaster programs and shift the costs of weather catastrophes to states. He apparently believes that if we ignore climate change, it will go away.

It won’t. And whichever level of government takes responsibility for uninsured disaster damages, taxpayers ultimately foot the bill.

There is a more equitable approach based on the “polluter-pays principle” — a sensible idea in international environmental law

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