This commentary is by Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, and Rep. Gabrielle Stebbins, D-Burlington. They are co-chairs of the legislative Climate Solutions Caucus, the largest issue-based caucus in the Vermont Legislature.
It’s just past the halfway point for the 2024 legislative session, and we are grateful to fellow lawmakers who have rolled up their sleeves to tackle so many complex issues from affordability to housing to public safety and school construction.
While there are many important policies the Vermont legislative Climate Solutions Caucus is working to successfully advance this session — funding for flood-impacted communities, cleaner transportation solutions, ratepayer protection for low-income earners, banning bee-killing pesticides and more – we wanted to highlight the importance of four priority bills that are making their way forward:
- S.213 – A bill related to flood recovery and strengthening community resilience
- H.687 – A bill relating to community resilience, land use and biodiversity protection
- S.259 – A bill to create a “Climate Superfund” to ensure Big Oil helps pay for climate disasters
- H.289 – A bill to modernize Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard
S.213 — Flood recovery and strengthening community resilience in a climate destabilized world
Last summer’s devastating floods were a wake-up call to many. Sustained and significant rains spurred unprecedented flooding that cost Vermonters more than $1 billion in damages.
S.213 is about tapping the unparalleled flood protection value of rivers, streams and wetlands, as well as ensuring dams essential for protecting communities downstream are strong and safe.
It looks to harness the sponge-like benefits of wetlands and help Vermont rivers flow more freely, serving as floodplains during high water events, where riparian areas can soak up inches of water — instead of inundating basements, bursting water lines and buckling roadways.
Vermonters cannot afford another devastating flood or Tropical Storm Irene — and yet we know more storms are coming. S.213 focuses on solutions that we can and must implement, now.
H.687 — Furthering community resilience, smart-growth land use and biodiversity protection
H.687 aims to support more housing in smart growth locations, protect large, intact, carbon-absorbing forest tracts and critical natural resources, and restructure elements of how Act 250 governance works to make it more publicly accessible, consistent and efficient.
The changes envisioned in H.687 would provide communities with more technical assistance and support to plan for and direct future development. The bill aims to strategically meet two important goals: building more housing while requiring environmental review of projects based on where the project is located, rather than on the project size.
S.259 — Holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their share of the cost of climate change
For decades, the fossil fuel industry has known the catastrophic consequences of their activities. They hid that knowledge from the public. Now, the impacts of the world’s collective combustion of fossil fuels are wreaking havoc on the planet and on people.
A recent report by Rebuild by Design found that Vermont suffered 17 climate disaster events between 2011 and 2021 — the seventh most of any state in the country. And the costs of climate disruption are only forecast to go up in the future.
A 2021 report by scientists at the University of Vermont forecast that flooding caused by more extreme weather will cost $5.2 billion in the decades ahead. These costs are astronomical and unaffordable.
S.259 aims to ensure some of the world’s largest and most profitable fossil fuel corporations help pay their fair share for the escalating costs of climate change.
H.289 — Creating the cleanest electric grid possible to dramatically cut climate pollution
On a 99-39 vote, the House recently advanced H.289 — a bill to update Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard. As more Vermonters turn to cleaner, more efficient and affordable electricity for transportation, heating and power needs, tapping into the cleanest grid possible is imperative.
H.289 puts Vermont on a path to do that in two fundamental ways:
- Requiring all Vermont utilities to provide 100% renewable electricity to their customers by 2035 — and by 2030 for the state’s largest utilities.
- Doubling the amount of new renewables Vermont utilities are required to build in the state — in particular small and medium-sized renewables — from 10% to 20%.
The pollution reduction value of H.289 is equivalent to taking approximately 200,000 cars off the road — permanently. It recognizes the different size, scale and pace of innovation of Vermont’s different distribution utilities, offering important cost-saving flexibility to utilities as they help their customers cut costs and carbon.
Climate action is a priority for the Legislature because it is a priority for Vermonters. They recognize the economic, environmental and public health value of advancing solutions. Unfortunately, Gov.Phil Scott is likely to veto one, more or all of these policies.
Failing to advance these priorities leaves Vermonters at risk from future climate disaster, holding the bag for escalating climate-induced costs and placing an inordinate and unconscionable burden on young people and future generations.
We have two choices: Do nothing and leave Vermonters to be hit hard, or act now to prepare Vermonters for the future. We choose action.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this commentary misstated whether Act 250 has been updated since its initial passage in 1970. The law has been amended multiple times.
