BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont is not on track to meet its 2030 climate emission-reduction commitment, but instead of accelerating to reach that mile marker, Gov. Phil Scott wants lawmakers to let him throttle back.
Scott says the cuts in carbon pollution would come at too high a cost for many Vermonters, especially those facing sharply higher property taxes and other expenses. Lawmakers and climate activists are incensed. They argue that Scott has been a Sunday driver on climate initiatives for years, so Vermont is no nearer to its goals. And now with an impending deadline, they say Scott should be hitting the gas.
Whether Vermont lives up to its climate commitments is shaping up to be one of the fiercest fights of the 2025 legislative session. Scott and his Republican allies, reinvigorated by electoral gains that eliminated the Democrats’ veto-proof supermajority, say Vermont can’t afford to meet existing goals. Climate activists and many of their Democratic allies say the state can’t afford not to.
Darren Perron spoke with Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum, who wrote about the story in this week’s issue.