Vermont’s clean energy transition faces unprecedented…

Vermont clean energy advocates are playing defense this year in Montpelier.

The Green Mountain State has long been a leader on clean energy, generating nearly all of its electricity from renewable sources since 2015. A shift in state and national politics, however, has left supporters in the Legislature focused on preserving recent gains instead of expanding local generation or pushing for greater emissions reductions from buildings and transportation.

“My first priority is going to be to make sure we don’t lose ground,” said Rep. Kathleen James, a Democrat who chairs the House Committee of Energy and Digital Infrastructure.

A new crop of Republican state lawmakers is taking aim at clean energy policy in the state, and while most of their bills are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, those backed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott are expected to get committee hearings. Meanwhile, Democrats have lost their legislative supermajorities, which means any legislation they pass will be vulnerable to a veto.

Gov. Scott, who stood up for climate action during the first Trump presidency, is striking a newly skeptical tone about the cost of clean energy programs and has announced his intent to roll back some provisions of state climate laws. As a backdrop to it all are growing concerns about energy price inflation that has caused some to falsely blame climate and clean energy policy for rising utility bills.

“Trump is running away from climate action as fast as he can, and our Republican governor is forcing the conversation to be about the exact same thing here,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, climate and energy program director at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

Vermont Republicans look to delay, roll back climate policy

Vermont was one of the first states to pass a ​“Climate Superfund” law that requires fossil fuel companies to pay for damages caused by climate change and one of the first to create a statewide energy-efficiency utility. It is a founding member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-invest system aimed at reducing emissions from electricity generation.

While the state’s electricity supply is largely decarbonized, the transportation and heating sectors are still responsible for 70% of Vermont’s emissions.

The Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act, passed in 2020, creates a framework for reducing the state’s overall emissions 40% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels and getting to net-zero emissions by 2050. The law also established the Vermont Climate Council, which produced a climate action plan that was adopted in late 2021.

The plan maps out decarbonization strategies including encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled by promoting development of compact communities, reducing the use of fossil fuels to heat buildings, and expanding weatherization services.

Scott vetoed the Global Warming Solutions Act, but the Legislature overrode his decision by sizable margins. Now, Scott wants to undo some of the law by pushing H.289, a bill sponsored by fellow Republicans House Minority Leader Patricia McCoy and Appropriations Committee Vice Chair James Harrison. Clean energy advocates say the bill would slow valuable climate action, while supporters say it will help rein in high energy costs.