This commentary is by state Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central.
Like most Vermonters, I’m still in shock from the catastrophic flooding that wrecked our homes, threatened our lives, and devastated our livelihoods across the state. Seeing Montpelier, where I go to represent my constituents at the Capitol, and so many other communities underwater is a painful reminder that our state will not be spared by the climate crisis, which made these floods significantly worse.
Like Tropical Storm Irene, we will be feeling the fallout of this disaster for years to come, and we don’t even yet know all we’ve lost.
As always, Vermonters have come together and made incredible efforts in the past week to help and support one another. But the strength of our communities isn’t enough on its own. Our cities and mountain towns weren’t built to handle flooding like this. Vermont’s infrastructure isn’t prepared for the climate emergency that we are facing. As our most vulnerable residents choke on wildfire smoke, swelter in record-breaking heat, wade through toxic waters, and watch their homes and belongings destroyed, it is clearer than ever.
It didn’t have to be this way. Fossil fuel companies spent decades polluting our air, lobbying against the transition to renewable energy, and lying about the hazards they knew their products would cause.
As Vermont Law Professor Pat Parenteau told climate accountability outlet ExxonKnews, “Their failure to warn about the dangers of the products they were promoting has led us to this place.”
It’s time that Vermonters channel our anger and grief by supporting action to hold these polluters accountable. Our attorney general’s office is fighting in court right now to make some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies take responsibility for their deception.
Vermont’s lawsuit, filed in 2021 by then-Attorney General TJ Donovan and now led by Attorney General Charity Clark, charges companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute with violating our state’s Consumer Protection Act, which requires companies to “sell their products to Vermont consumers on the basis of fair and honest disclosures, free of unfair and deceptive acts and practices.”
Just as our attorneys general once took tobacco and opioid companies to court for lying to Vermont consumers about the fatal harm their products would cause, Vermont will hopefully put Big Oil on trial for their actions.
Nearly half a century ago, Exxon scientists predicted “potentially catastrophic” consequences from the burning of fossil fuels, and Shell privately warned that “civilization could prove a fragile thing” if actions weren’t taken to reduce emissions. But instead of acting on what they knew, the fossil fuel industry launched a coordinated campaign of disinformation to confuse the public about climate change and delay action in order to protect their profits.
“Victory will be achieved when average citizens understand uncertainties in climate science,” reads a 1998 memo outlining oil and gas majors’ plan to defeat climate policies that would’ve helped us avoid the worst of these disasters.
Big Oil’s deception didn’t end there. Today fossil fuel companies try to posture themselves as part of climate solutions while warning — in the words of Shell CEO Wael Sawan — that it would be “dangerous” to stop producing the dirty products fueling our climate crisis. While these companies are now making recordbreaking profits and investing them in producing even more planet-wrecking fossil fuels, our communities are wondering how we’ll pay to protect ourselves from the next fire, storm, or flood — because we know this one won’t be the last.
Vermont’s lawsuit seeks to make these greedy polluters give up profits they made while lying to the public — and to take “appropriate steps to rectify their prior and ongoing unfair and deceptive acts and practices.” This is essential. We can’t begin to address the damage to our communities with these companies continuing to stand in the way of just and sustainable solutions.
Whether you live in Montpelier or Chittenden County, the Northeast Kingdom, or the Connecticut River Valley, you deserve a safe environment and clear, honest information — we all do. I’m glad the Vermont Attorney General’s Office is working to hold these fossil fuel companies accountable and to protect our communities from irresponsible corporate deception, and I hope municipal governments in the state consider whether they too should take action.
Vermonters are brave and resilient, and I know that we will continue to look out for each other — but we have earned our day in court.
