Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rep. Mary Sullivan, D-Burlington, and Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor. They are co-chairs of the legislative Climate Solutions Caucus.
Earlier this month, the Scott administration announced its plans to spend Vermont’s portion of the funds from the Volkswagen settlement – money intended to reduce pollution. Legislators, including the Climate Solutions Caucus of which we are co-chairs, have pushed for Vermont’s full $18.7 million to be dedicated to electric buses and other electric transportation, getting the cleanest possible vehicles on Vermont’s roads and saving Vermonters money now – and much more into the future.
The Scott administration, on the other hand, has repeatedly expressed an interest in using much of it to subsidize more diesel and other fossil-fueled vehicles.
Diesel, whether 1981 or 2018 technology, is dirty. The industry has succeeded in making it less bad, and now in a bizarre attempt to greenwash it they call it “clean diesel.” We need to be moving away from all oil and gas as quickly as we can – not just for the health of our climate but for the health of our people and our economy as well.
For every dollar spent on oil or gas in Vermont, 80 cents goes out of our local economy. That’s because we don’t produce any oil or gas here in Vermont. It’s all imported, unlike much of our more-clean electricity. That makes our reliance on fossil fuels both an economic drain and an environmental disaster. Using these VW settlement dollars to jumpstart our nascent electric vehicle industry helps to address both of these challenges.
The governor’s plan includes enough electrification to comply with language passed by the Legislature, but leaves a loophole so that nearly 70 percent of the money could be used for subsidies of more diesel vehicles.
In 2015, Volkswagen was caught cheating on vehicle emissions tests, a scandal that an analysis by the Guardian newspaper estimated created more pollution than the UK’s annual “emissions for all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture.”
In the aftermath, Volkswagen settled multiple lawsuits. In the U.S., the most significant of these resulted not only in damages awarded to VW’s customers but also a fund to cut pollution going forward. VW was, in essence, told to “make it right” by funding work to get dirty diesel vehicles off the roads.
Vermont legislators were first briefed on the settlement early last year. In subsequent hearings, members of the House were told by the Scott administration not to pass legislation restricting their use of the funds because they were developing a plan and legislators would have plenty of opportunity to comment later.
Last November, Gov. Phil Scott announced the plan. Unfortunately, the language was left open so that most of the money could be spent on diesel vehicle subsidies. As for the Legislature weighing in, an administration official said, “in terms of a specific role, I don’t see one.” In essence, “sure, we’re happy to hear your opinion – but we’re going to leave this open to fossil fuel subsidies.”
Legislators, including the 50-plus members of the Climate Solutions Caucus, saw things differently. Following a public comment period in which the vast majority of Vermonters who weighed in supported electrification of transportation and an outright ban on using the money for more diesel, we introduced legislation to require that every dollar of the settlement money be spent on electrification. The bill required a focus on electric vehicle charging and on helping Vermont school districts and businesses purchase electric buses and trucks. This language, which was ultimately included in the budget bill as part of the “climate package,” required that the FY19 portion of the settlement be used only for electrification.
The governor’s staff seems to have taken that as carte blanche to write a plan that puts the first year’s spending into electric buses but leaves the door open for the vast majority of the remaining dollars to be used for buying more diesel vehicles – the same fuel that got us into this mess in the first place.
To be clear, we’re pleased to see the electric bus pilot program the Department of Environmental Conservation announced in early June along with the electric vehicle charging infrastructure the Agency of Commerce and Community Development will be deploying with their portion of the money. That’s consistent with the language the Legislature passed, and it’s a good start. But leaving open the possibility that nearly $13 million could be spent in future years to subsidize diesel and other fossil fuels is a huge mistake, though not a surprise coming from a governor who talks a good game on climate but time and again comes up short – or actively takes Vermont backwards – when it comes to the details.
Vermonters expect more and deserve better. The Scott administration should rewrite its plan to make clear it will not spend one cent subsidizing fossil fuels. The Climate Solutions Caucus and many other members of the Legislature are speaking with one voice on this. We will continue this fight next year.
