MAINE PUBLIC • November 2, 2026
Environmental groups are encouraged by Maine's first step toward calculating damage to the state caused by burning fossil fuels sold by major oil companies. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is planning to hire a contactor to assess the climate costs to the state from greenhouse gas emissions over a 30-year period until 2024. Sean Mahoney, director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Maine advocacy center, said that adding up the financial effects on economic growth, natural resources, public health and other issues in the state is a necessary first step to holding fossil fuel companies responsible for the climate-altering effects of their products. The idea is to create a compensation method for pollution modeled on the federal "superfund" program.