Climate activists urge towns, counties to stop hiring lobbying firms with fossil fuel clients
Report released as legislators debate the “Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act”
Environmental groups are urging New Jersey counties and municipalities to stop hiring lobbying firms that also represent fossil fuel companies and organizations that oppose the state’s proposed Climate Superfund legislation.
The call comes in a new report released by the watchdog group F Minus in partnership with the Climate Revolution Action Network and Make Polluters Pay. According to the report, some local governments that support the Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey Affordable Act are paying lobbying firms that also represent clients working against the legislation.
According to the report, seven counties and more than 70 municipalities passed resolutions backing the legislation in 2025.
The legislation, A3735/S2338, would require certain fossil fuel companies to pay into a state-run climate recovery fund. According to the report, the money would be used for climate resilience projects such as flood protection, stormwater infrastructure, coastal protection, and other efforts to help communities adapt to climate change.
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The report identifies half a dozen lobbying firms that represent both local governments that support the bill and clients that oppose it.
“New Jerseyans are getting hit with a climate double-whammy,” said James Browning, executive director of F Minus, in a statement. “Fossil fuel companies whose products are contributing to global warming are blocking passage of Polluters Pay, which would help local governments cover the costs of climate impacts such as flooding. But then, perversely, some of these local governments are spending taxpayer funds to retain lobbying firms who oppose the bill on behalf of their business and fossil fuel clients.”
Ben Dziobek, executive director of Climate Revolution Action Network New Jersey, said the report raises concerns about how taxpayer money is being spent.
“This is a major conflict of interest. Taxpayer dollars are flowing to the same lobbying firms that are working to shield fossil fuel companies from accountability,” Dziobek said in a statement. “In the communities hit hardest by climate change, residents are effectively paying lobbyists to undermine legislation that would help them recover from climate damages.”
The authors contend that local governments stand to benefit from the legislation because they face growing costs from flooding, sea-level rise, and other climate-related impacts. The report cites a 2019 study by the Center for Climate Integrity estimating that some New Jersey communities could face hundreds of millions of dollars in future costs related to rising seas.
Beyond urging local governments to review their lobbying contracts and avoid firms that represent fossil fuel interests, the groups also advocate for strengthening New Jersey’s lobbying disclosure system and increasing transparency around lobbying activities.
F Minus, a research organization that tracks state-level fossil fuel lobbying activity, released the report as lawmakers continue to consider the Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey Affordable Act, which supporters say would shift some climate-related costs from taxpayers to fossil fuel companies. The bill is scheduled to be discussed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee that meets at noon today.
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Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.