Republican Gov. Phil Scott has presented the Legislature with a new 鈥渃limate action鈥� proposal that would, according to environmental advocates and many Democratic lawmakers, functionally dismantle Vermont鈥檚 landmark emissions reduction law.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020 requires Vermont to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at rates that scientists say are necessary to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming.
It also established a 鈥減rivate right of action鈥� that allows individuals or organizations to sue the state if it fails to meet statutory emissions reductions targets in 2025, 2030 and 2050.
Scott is now asking lawmakers to eliminate the mandatory targets, do away with the private right of action, and weaken the policymaking power of a 23-person Vermont Climate Council that was created by the Legislature to drive the energy transition in Vermont.
Scott鈥檚 Secretary of Natural Resources, Julie Moore, says the law has led lawmakers and the council to develop policies 鈥� such as the clean heat standard 鈥� that would raise the cost of fossil fuels.
鈥淲e have sort of gone into them without a clear sense of how much it would actually cost to do the work,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淎nd that makes it really hard then to set priorities and design programs if you don鈥檛 have a sense upfront of how much you鈥檙e willing to spend.鈥�
Scott鈥檚 alternative climate action plan is, broadly, to develop another climate action plan. He says his administration will present lawmakers with a new and more affordable framework for reducing emissions after the next election, in December of 2026.
In the meantime, the administration wants to repurpose existing funding at Efficiency Vermont and use it to support weatherization activities and electric vehicle incentives.
鈥淯rgency drives hasty, unaffordable and ultimately counterproductive laws that delay progress,鈥� the Scott administration wrote in a policy whitepaper.
Scott鈥檚 proposal has drawn scorn from environmental advocates who say the governor鈥檚 evolving posture on climate change has cost him whatever trust he once had on the issue.
Climate action is a core affordability issue. ... The more we slow our pace, the more that we鈥檙e sort of tethering Vermonters to a really price volatile, unpredictable, unsustainable fossil fuel economy.Democratic Manchester Rep. Kath James
In 2017, at a press conference on the banks of Lake Champlain, Scott criticized newly inaugurated President Donald Trump鈥檚 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. And he doubled down on his administration鈥檚 decision to pursue those targets on its own.
鈥淲e have reaffirmed Vermont's commitment to achieving the greenhouse gas reduction targets of the Accord,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚 did so with confidence, knowing that my administration is committed to meeting our state's existing targets for carbon reduction and renewable energy.鈥�
At a press conference earlier this month, Scott called those same targets 鈥渁rbitrary.鈥�
鈥淕ov. Scott has just lost credibility on the climate issue,鈥� said Ben Walsh, with the 开云体育 Interest Research Group. 鈥淭he governor has simply not been following through on his commitment.鈥�
Jennifer Rushlow, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, said Scott鈥檚 plan fails to generate the resources needed to curb Vermonters鈥� reliance on fossil fuels and transition them to renewable energy.
鈥淭o suggest that anything about this plan can be described as climate action is inaccurate. What this really is is a rollback on climate,鈥� Rushlow said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 anti-climate action.鈥�
Democratic lawmakers, for now at least, are sounding a more diplomatic tone.
鈥淚 want to let them have the space to make their case,鈥� said Washington County Sen. Anne Watson, the Democratic chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. 鈥淭hough, I personally am very skeptical about that as a plan.鈥�
Manchester Rep. Kath James, the Democratic chair of the House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure, said Scott is asking lawmakers to 鈥渞econsider鈥� and 鈥渞ollback鈥� their signature policies without offering any indication of what might replace them.
And she said rescinding the emissions reduction mandates, and eliminating the private right of action, 鈥渞emove a primary mechanism for making sure that the work is getting done.鈥�
鈥淐limate action is a core affordability issue. It鈥檚 a core economic issue,鈥� James said. 鈥淭he more we slow our pace, the more that we鈥檙e sort of tethering Vermonters to a really price volatile, unpredictable, unsustainable fossil fuel economy. And that鈥檚 not smart strategic thinking.鈥�
I think there is a cost to not making the necessary investments and moving forward on the green transition. On what timeline we make progress, I leave that to the Legislature.Democratic State Treasurer Mike Pieciak
Democrats鈥� reluctance thus far to issue a more forceful rebuke of the governor鈥檚 attempt to undo their climate policies 鈥� most of which he vetoed 鈥� stems in part from concerns about the political repercussions of moving forward with expensive initiatives that will inevitably raise the cost of fossil fuels in the short term.
Some Vermont Democrats say their party鈥檚 support for the clean heat standard, for instance, likely contributed to Republicans鈥� historic gains in the House and Senate during the last election cycle.
But it isn鈥檛 just members of the GOP that are making the case against the sorts of system-wide climate policies Vermont would need to adopt in order to meet its statutory emissions reduction targets. Democratic State Treasurer Mike Pieciak issued a report to lawmakers Tuesday urging them to hold off on joining a program that could significantly reduce emissions from the transportation sector.
The 鈥渃ap and invest鈥� program would see Vermont join an existing initiative in California that limits emissions from cars and trucks, and uses a system of tradable credits that generates revenues for decarbonization projects.
While cap and invest would yield 鈥渂road economic benefits鈥� over time, Pieciak said in the report, joining the program now would increase the cost of gasoline by at least 26 cents a gallon in Vermont. And he said that could be financially onerous for lower-income families who live in rural areas and spend a disproportionate amount of their income on gas and diesel.
鈥淭he idea of going with an existing program that would have a sort of sudden increase in price is a pretty hard pill to swallow at this moment,鈥� Pieciak said in an interview Tuesday.
Pieciak said Vermont could consider joining a similar program in the future, so long as the state had a plan in place to shield low- and moderate-income residents from the resulting increases in gas price.
Asked whether he thinks Vermont is well served by the emissions reduction mandates in current law, Pieciak said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to say.鈥�
鈥淚 think there is a cost to not making the necessary investments and moving forward on the green transition,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n what timeline we make progress, I leave that to the Legislature.鈥�
Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore said she reads Pieciak鈥檚 report to lawmakers as a validation of the governor鈥檚 concerns.
鈥淚 see his findings as in pretty close lockstep with concerns we have been raising around the significant challenges these approaches present to affordability,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淚 think he shares my same sense that the sudden and substantial increase in fuel prices that would occur 鈥� is simply not tenable.鈥�
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