Join us in protecting the climate, health, and wallets of communities impacted by Berkshire Hathaway’s coal plant pollution across the country. It’s time for multibillionaire Warren Buffett, his right-hand man Greg Abel, and the entire Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate to make smarter climate investments and enable healthier communities.

On May 3, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and executives gather for their annual shareholder meeting. In advance of the meeting, the public has an opportunity to submit questions via e-mail for a Q&A with Buffett and Abel. Take action by asking Berkshire Hathaway to stop relying on harmful, costly fossil fuels.

What’s At Stake

While other energy companies are working towards a rapid clean energy transition, Berkshire Hathaway operates the dirtiest set of coal-fired power plants in the country, contributing to millions of dollars in healthcare expenses, thousands of lost school and work days, and dozens of premature deaths. Yet, Berkshire’s three major utilities, MidAmerican Energy, PacifiCorp, and NV Energy—which collectively provide electricity to over 4 million customers across 10 states—are doubling down on fossil fuels. MidAmerican Energy has advertised a 100% renewable energy vision, but the company continues to operate five coal-fired power plants across Iowa with emissions that make it the single largest polluter in the state. PacifiCorp recently disclosed a plan to operate many of its coal plants indefinitely, while NV Energy similarly delays retirement of its coal plants and proposes massive investments in methane gas.

Berkshire Hathaway’s risky decisions are poisoning and polluting communities across the US, and if that wasn’t enough, it’s doing so on the customers’ dime. Last year in Utah, Berkshire’s Rocky Mountain Power (a division of PacifiCorp) proposed a historic 30% rate increase that would cost most customers hundreds of dollars more a year. In that same year, Berkshire’s NV Energy attempted to triple customers' base rates in Nevada.

Climbing energy costs also coincide with Berkshire’s PacifiCorp facing at least $46 billion in claims related to the utility’s gross negligence that led to catastrophic wildfires in Oregon. In a letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett addressed the fires which have become more frequent due to climate change: “These costs arose from forest fires, whose frequency and intensity have increased—and will likely continue to increase—if convective storms become more frequent. It will be many years until we know the final tally from BHE’s forest-fire losses and can intelligently make decisions about the desirability of future investments in vulnerable western states.” So, not only has Berkshire Hathaway’s fossil fuel investments increased climate risks, they have increased the financial risks to shareholders as well.

Greg Abel, Warren Buffett, and the rest of the Berkshire Hathaway team know three things about their coal plants: they are poisoning our communities, driving the climate crisis, and resulting in skyrocketing utility bills for their customers. It’s time for Berkshire Hathaway to act. We’re calling on Berkshire Hathaway to live up to the reputation it's trying to create and stop polluting our planet on our dime before it’s too late.