Vermont’s clean energy transition faces unprecedented political threat

Vermont clean energy advocates are playing defense this year in Montpelier.

The Green Mountain State has long been a leader on clean energy, generating nearly all of its electricity from renewable sources since 2015. A shift in state and national politics, however, has left supporters in the Legislature focused on preserving recent gains instead of expanding local generation or pushing for greater emissions reductions from buildings and transportation.

“My first priority is going to be to make sure we don’t lose ground,” said Rep. Kathleen James, a Democrat who chairs the House Committee of Energy and Digital Infrastructure.

A new crop of Republican state lawmakers is taking aim at clean energy policy in the state, and while most of their bills are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, those backed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott are expected to get committee hearings. Meanwhile, Democrats have lost their legislative supermajorities, which means any legislation they pass will be vulnerable to a veto.

Gov. Scott, who stood up for climate action during the first Trump presidency, is striking a newly skeptical tone about the cost of clean energy programs and has announced his intent to roll back some provisions of state climate laws. As a backdrop to it all are growing concerns about energy price inflation that has caused some to falsely blame climate and clean energy policy for rising utility bills.

“Trump is running away from climate action as fast as he can, and our Republican governor is forcing the conversation to be about the exact same thing here,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, climate and energy program director at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

Vermont Republicans look to delay, roll back climate policy

Vermont was one of the first states to pass a ​“Climate Superfund” law that requires fossil fuel companies to pay for damages caused by climate change and one of the first to create a statewide energy-efficiency utility. It is a founding member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-invest system aimed at reducing emissions from electricity generation.

While the state’s electricity supply is largely decarbonized, the transportation and heating sectors are still responsible for 70% of Vermont’s emissions.

The Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act, passed in 2020, creates a framework for reducing the state’s overall emissions 40% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels and getting to net-zero emissions by 2050. The law also established the Vermont Climate Council, which produced a climate action plan that was adopted in late 2021.

The plan maps out decarbonization strategies including encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled by promoting development of compact communities, reducing the use of fossil fuels to heat buildings, and expanding weatherization services.

Scott vetoed the Global Warming Solutions Act, but the Legislature overrode his decision by sizable margins. Now, Scott wants to undo some of the law by pushing H.289, a bill sponsored by fellow Republicans House Minority Leader Patricia McCoy and Appropriations Committee Vice Chair James Harrison. Clean energy advocates say the bill would slow valuable climate action, while supporters say it will help rein in high energy costs.

The bill would replace the state’s renewable energy requirements with a clean electricity standard that includes nuclear power. Advocates worry the change would shift money from solar and wind to nuclear projects. The bill would also reapportion efficiency funds — which now pay for a range of services including home energy assessments, commercial lighting support, and financing programs – to support weatherization, a narrower focus which advocates say would not have as much impact on greenhouse gas reductions as the broader array of options.

The bill would remove the Climate Council’s authority to direct policy, making its role merely advisory. The legislation would then create a separate body tasked with developing its own ​“companion implementation strategy” to be delivered in December 2026, after the next legislative and gubernatorial elections.

“This brilliant idea is ​‘Let’s roll back the things we have done, wait for an additional 18 months, then trust me, we’ll make some real progress at that point,’” Edgerly Walsh said.

To avoid Gov. Scott’s veto pen, Democrats seek budget-neutral solutions 

At the same time, Democrats — aware of Scott’s resistance to any clean energy action that comes with a price tag — have proposed just one major energy bill.

“In terms of larger, more comprehensive actions, the path this biennium is extraordinarily difficult given Gov. Scott’s consistent opposition to anything of that kind,” Edgerly Walsh said.

Democrats’ proposal would expand the mission of the state’s energy-efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, to include a broader range of emission-reducing and cost-saving solutions, including fuel switching and electric vehicle adoption. The program currently has a very narrow mandate to reduce the consumption of electricity. Bill S.65 would direct the organization to prioritize reducing greenhouse gas emissions and authorize it to undertake programs beyond its traditional scope.

Johanna Miller, energy and climate program director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council, is hopeful, however, that Scott would not veto the measure, as it leverages existing money rather than adding cost.

“The governor has made it clear that his veto pen comes out when there’s any cost implications,” she said.

The dynamics in the state have been building to this moment for some time. In addition to the cost-of-living concerns that are widespread nationally, Vermont last year dealt with a surge in property taxes to fund its schools.

Outside voices have started to creep into the state as well: In 2024, Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political action group founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, launched a campaign against the state’s Clean Heat Standard, a proposed measure that aimed to reduce emissions from heating sources. The organization’s mailers used distorted descriptions of the proposed plan to rally opposition. In the end, legislative leaders decided not to proceed with a vote to approve the standard.

These circumstances have left Democrats and environmental advocates girding for two years of staving off attacks on clean energy and energy-efficiency programs while struggling to make much progress.

“I ultimately think we’re going to be able to hold the line,” Edgerly Walsh said. ​“But it’s going to be a lot of hard work between now and the end of the session.”