“We’re Left to Rebuild Alone.” Climate Disaster Survivors Demand Big Oil Companies Pay for Insurance Crisis (2025)

Last Updated on April 18, 2025 by BVN

Overview: Climate disaster survivors in California are advocating for fossil fuel companies to help fund insurance relief for those affected by climate change. The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act would create a pathway for oil and gas companies to fund insurance relief for disaster survivors. The bill has supporters and opponents, with proponents arguing it is a step towards rebalancing the scales, while opponents say it is too aggressive and could chill energy investment.

Aryana Noroozi

When flames from the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, Moira Morel and her wife grabbed their children and fled. They lost the home they had just bought in 2021 — a dream space for their young family, now reduced to ash.

“We lost everything,” Morel said. “And we’re the lucky ones. Some of our neighbors had no insurance at all.”

Morel is among a growing number of Californians who say they are paying the price — emotionally, physically and financially — for disasters they had no hand in creating. Now, these survivors are turning their grief into advocacy, calling on fossil fuel companies to shoulder some of the costs of a worsening insurance crisis tied to climate change.

Morel and fellow survivor Barbara Ferris, who lost two homes to wildfires in Malibu and the Palisades, respectively, are testifying before the California State Senate in support of SB 222, the Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act. The bill would create a pathway for oil and gas companies that have knowingly contributed to climate change to help fund insurance relief for disaster survivors.

“Californians are paying a devastating price for the climate crisis, as escalating disasters destroy entire communities and drive insurance costs through the roof,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “Containing these costs is critical to our recovery and to the future of our state. By forcing the fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis to pay their fair share, we can help stabilize our insurance market and make the victims of climate disasters whole.”

“Families like ours are carrying the whole burden,” said Ferris, whose mother’s century-old home was destroyed in one of the fires. “The oil and gas companies who helped create these conditions,, they’re still raking in profits.”

The testimonies are part of a broader campaign organized by Extreme Weather Survivors (EWS), a grassroots group formed by those directly impacted by climate disasters. During the week of April 7, EWS also launched a digital ad series featuring Californians from Altadena to San Diego who have lost homes, businesses, and entire communities to wildfires and flooding.

The ads, titled “We Can’t Rate Hike Our Way Out of This,” spotlight voices like Matt Schodorf, co-owner of Café de Leche, a small Latin-owned café in Pasadena. Schodorf lost the only location that he owned in the Eaton Fire. The building was underinsured by half a million dollars. He’s now applying for a small business loan while advocating for state-funded debris removal — a cost that could otherwise run up to $90,000.

Supporters of SB 222 argue it’s a step toward rebalancing the scales. The bill, modeled after “polluter pays” framework – which establishes that the costs of pollution should be borne by those responsible for causing the pollution – requires fossil fuel companies to contribute to a state fund aimed at stabilizing insurance markets and supporting recovery efforts for future disasters

Opponents, including industry lobbyists, say the bill is too aggressive and could chill energy investment. But for survivors like Mike Cohen, a writer who watched, via security footage, as his Altadena home burned while he was out of town—the stakes are personal.

“I’m still dealing with underinsurance and a tough mortgage situation, even though my insurance company did what they could,” Cohen said. “But many others weren’t so fortunate. We need more than thoughts and prayers. We need structural change.”

Marcus Betts spent the night of the fire helping his extended family — many of whom had lived in Altadena since the 1950s — evacuate and collect irreplaceable heirlooms. He’s now displaced with his wife and two daughters, unsure when or if they’ll return home.

Despite the hardship, survivors say they’re united by a determination to not just rebuild, but to demand justice.

“We didn’t cause these disasters,” Morel said. “But we’re living through them — and we’re not staying silent.”