Climate change protesters upstaged Gov. Phil Scott with a “People’s State of the State address” as the governor started his fourth State of the State address Thursday.
A minute and a half into his speech, 16 demonstrators from Extinction Rebellion interrupted the governor shouting slogans demanding that Scott take immediate action to address climate change. The protesters had filled half of the downstairs gallery of the House Chamber.
The chants went on for 15 minutes before Scott, a Republican, said, “If you don’t want to listen to what I have to say, you can be removed.” He waited another few minutes and the chants continued. “OK, I think we’ve had enough.”
Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat, called for the chamber to come to order and made a final offer. “You have given your message and the governor has graciously listened. If necessary, I’ll have to declare a recess.”
After a short pause, Zuckerman clapped the gavel on the podium and asked Sergeant-at-Arms Janet Miller to clear the protesters out of the chamber. A dozen or so Vermont state troopers peaceably removed 16 protestors who were detained on the first floor of the Statehouse. Only one, Henry Harris, 41, of Peacham was arrested for disorderly conduct; the rest were released.
As police were clearing out protesters, a video shows Rep. Bob Helm, R-Fair Haven, speaking to Kurt Wright, the Burlington City Council president and former Republican House member.
“You’re not helping your cause,” Wright said to Helm, apparently referring to the protesters.
“I’d like to slap one of them,” Helm says in response.
The protest and recess took about 25 minutes. The governor then resumed his speech, which only lasted about a half hour.
The disruption of Scott’s opening address in the House chamber was the second in a row, and the third time in recent history that demonstrators have interrupted the State of the State with climate change demands or other reforms.
The Extinction Rebellion demonstration started with a rally at noon outside the Statehouse. There, teenager Rory Patch of Vergennes led the chants, demanding that the governor “listen to the people.”
“I’m here because I’m afraid I’m going to die,” she said. “We have a right to a livable future and so do our children. And so do our children’s children. We need to achieve a just transition, through the climate crisis. Because we are unable to trust the government to do so.”
Speaking to a gathering of about 100, Patch said, “Here on the Statehouse steps, we will tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency and demand that our elected officials join us in this declaration.
“We’re here, we’re watching and we’re holding you accountable,” she said.
Many of the attendees brought noisemakers: pots and pans, cymbals and even a tuba to make their presence known inside the Statehouse.
The Red Rebel Brigade silently and slowly paraded around the protest, draped in all red with satin ribbon fluttering from their wrists. The red symbolized the blood of animals that have been killed by the effects of climate change. Fires raging in Australia have killed at least 24 people, consumed 24 million acres and wiped out more than 1 billion animals, according to the New York Times.
Protesters said Scott isn’t doing enough. They also demanded that lawmakers take aggressive and immediate action to combat climate change.
“We demand that Gov. Scott and the Legislature stand behind universally accepted climate science and tell the truth at every opportunity about our climate emergency,” Patch said.
Many voiced support for a Vermont “Green New Deal” proposed this session by Sen. Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington. They also emphasized the need for revolutionary energy solutions.
One of the protesters at the Statehouse, David Van Deusen, president of the Vermont Labor Council, AFL-CIO, supports a Green New Deal funded by a tax on the top earners in the state. Pollina’s plan proposes an income tax on the top 5% of earners that would produce $30 million in income tax over five years.
Democratic leadership are proposing two major climate change bills this session: They want Vermont to join a regional Transportation and Climate Initiative that will charge fossil fuel distributors to raise money for carbon-cutting investments, and they are pitching a Global Warming Solutions Act that will force state agencies to hit certain emission reduction targets.
Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, didn’t appreciate Scott’s lack of emphasis on climate change solutions in his address. She said his speech showed a “stunning lack of vision and urgency.”
“The rubber meets the road when his budget comes,” Copeland-Hanzas said. “And I didn’t get any indications from what he said today that he’s prioritizing climate.”
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said the protests wouldn’t change her approach, one way or the other, and she applauded the governor’s call for civility and respect.
“The issue is too important to let a distraction like that derail the important conversations we’re having on climate change,” Johnson said. “Wavering votes in the middle aren’t persuaded by disruptive actions.”
She emphasized the deliberative nature of the Legislature’s work. “The legislative branch is not an immediate branch, we are the policy setting branch.”
Johnson said her caucus is doing all it can to move climate change legislation forward. “We have signaled a very strong start on ways to reduce our emissions, hold ourselves accountable to an international standard and find economically sustainable ways to reinvest in making reductions in emissions,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated where Rory Patch made her remarks as part of the climate change protest. It was outside the Statehouse.
