Renewable Revolution

Dec 2, 2021

Ever since the Vermont Legislature overrode Gov. 🐘 Scott’s veto and enacted the Global Warming Solutions Act, we’ve had Dec. 1, 2021 circled on our calendars. That was the day the VT Climate Council, created by the Solutions Act, was slated to adopt Vermont’s first every legally required Climate Action Plan.

Well, I’m excited to share that yesterday the Climate Council did just that. On a 19 to 4 vote, the Council adopted a plan that, while far from perfect, lays the foundation for Vermont to finally treat the climate crisis with the seriousness it demands and get on track to meet our climate requirements.

Notably, the Climate Action Plan calls for (among many other things):

✔ A clean heat standard, analogous to a renewable energy standard for the heating sector,
✔ A dramatically-scaled up weatherization program that will help many more Vermonters - particularly lower income and historically marginalized Vermonters – access weatherization services,
✔ Transportation investments to help people access clean and affordable transportation options and
✔ The adoption of an environmental justice policy. 

This is a big step, and a big thanks is owed to the hundreds of VPIRG members who attended Climate Council hearings and shared input with the Council. It made a big difference. And there’s no question that many, many thanks are due to the members of the Council itself and its subcommittees. Many are volunteers, and they put in hundreds of hours of hard, painstaking work to make yesterday’s action possible. Vermont owes them a debt of gratitude.

But in many ways, the hard work is just beginning. As policymakers move forward to consider these recommendations, we need to continue to make our voices heard and bring more voices into the process, particularly from historically marginalized communities.

Doing so will be necessary to make sure that our elected leaders turn these recommendations into real, tangible policies that cut carbon pollution and do so equitably. ... ...

There’s far more to share about the plan, the policies it requires the Scott Administration to take, how it will impact the upcoming legislative session, and what the ongoing work of the Council (and there’s a lot of it) will look like in the coming months. We’ll be in touch with more of those details in the coming weeks, but for now I wanted to offer a sincere thank you to all VPIRG members for the way you’ve stepped up for climate action these past few months (and years!). It is true that we have a great deal of work ahead of us. But the fact that we stand here today, with the state’s first legally adopted Climate Action Plan in our hands—a roadmap to the transformative policies we must adopt as a state—is a testament to the commitment of VPIRG members all across Vermont. So thank you.

Ben Edgerly Walsh
Climate & Energy Program Director, VPIRG

Vermont Public Interest Research Group
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