Over 100 Berkeley High School students walked out of school during sixth period on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, to support the “Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act,” a proposed statewide climate bill that would require oil companies to pay a fee proportional to their environmental harm. This event was part of a statewide protest with students participating from over 50 California schools.
The “Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act” calls for fossil fuel companies that produced more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in California since 1990 to pay a fee proportional to their emissions. Similar legislation has already been passed in New York and Vermont. The fees would go into a state-managed climate superfund to finance clean energy, disaster preparedness, and rebuilding after climate-related disasters. Forty percent of the funds would be dedicated to ending climate injustice and supporting lower-income communities most affected by climate change. The California state legislature expects to vote on the bill in January of 2026.
Opponents of the bill have argued that the “Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act” would negatively impact California’s economic competitiveness, as big polluters may stop operating in the state. Some worry the bill would lead to job losses and a decrease in state tax revenue. In addition, the fee could be considered a retroactive liability, some argue, meaning that the companies would have to pay for past activities that were not subject to fines at the time.
The walkout was first organized by BHS Sunrise Club, which came together to organize and advertise the walkout with four other clubs: Shiny Beaches Club, Mural Club, Black Student Union, and Amnesty International. Sunrise Club is the BHS chapter of the larger Sunrise Movement, a national organization focusing on mobilizing youth against climate change.
Sydney Fair, a BHS senior, a leader in Mural club and a member of Sunrise Club, hoped the walkout could serve as an opportunity for more BHS students to engage in activism. “I think it’s a very … approachable way of getting involved (in student activism),” Fair said.
At the start of sixth period, participating students gathered on the senior steps and began chanting, “We care about our futures!” The group marched off campus onto Allston Way, which had been blocked off for the protest. Students carried signs with phrases such as “Raise your voice, not the sea level,” and “I stand for what I stand on.”
Freshman Addis Orr spoke about why she felt compelled to attend the walkout, stating, “I’ve noticed a lot of the effects of climate change, and I just thought it was important to have a lot of people here to show that this matters.”
Student leaders of the walkout delivered speeches to the crowd. Yohanna Sanchez, a member of Sunrise Club and Shiny Beaches Club, spoke about the environment and “shamed” big oil companies for their harm to the planet, concluding their speech by leading everyone in the audience to chant, “They will pay.”
Although the walkout was focused on the “Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act,” many attendees expressed support for other political issues they felt passionate about. “I want to take a stand and get people to notice,” BHS freshman Twyla Sheridan said. The participants voiced that they felt their presence showed politicians that California youth are energized and politically engaged.
Following speeches, the Mural Club led attendees in painting a street mural. Others called and left messages for politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senator Jesse Arreguín, and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, to demand they vote “yes” on the bill.
Fair emphasized what the walkout organizers hoped to achieve. “We, youth of Berkeley High (School), are supporting this bill and want them to invest in our futures,” Fair said.