Today’s actions by Maryland Comptroller’s Office represent the final step before work can begin on the study to determine how much climate change is costing Maryland 

 

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman announced today that the Comptroller’s Office has allocated the necessary funds to begin studying how much climate change impacts are costing the state. Maryland’s leadership is united in support of the RENEW Act study. Governor Moore has given his express support for the study and worked to ensure it was funded. A supermajority of state lawmakers in both chambers have voted to support the study on two separate occasions, and the Comptroller’s office is eager to begin the process. 

Passed in 2025, the RENEW Act study bill required a comprehensive analysis of climate damages in the state to be completed by December 2026. With today’s announcement, the work of completing these calculations and determinations has begun. This work will tee Maryland up in 2027 to require out-of-state fossil fuel companies to compensate Maryland for climate damages. 

“Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like the tornadoes we saw yesterday,” said Brittany Baker, Maryland Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “We can point to historic flooding, heat waves, and other impacts, but we have never added up all the costs before. That’s the process we begin today so we can make sure polluters, not Maryland taxpayers, are covering the costs of climate change.” 

“It’s about time that the state holds polluters accountable for the health and environmental damages they’ve caused millions of Maryland families,” said Jorge Aguilar, the Southern Region Director at Food & Water Watch. “This study is a great first step toward ensuring that we are making polluters pay.”

“It’s about time that the highest contributors of pollution are held accountable, and we look forward to seeing where this goes,” said Nick Johnson, owner of Su Casa Furniture in Ellicott City. Nick’s storefront was destroyed by both of the once-in-a-thousand-year rain events that flooded Ellicott City in 2016 and 2018.

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.