By Keith Whitcomb Jr.
THE RUTLAND HERALD
While a new report says Vermont isn’t on track to meet its emissions reduction requirements, the head of the agency tasked with making those requirements a reality says a lot is being done, and that the 2050 targets are more important to the climate as a whole.
“While there is a lot of important information in this comprehensive, 40-page report, a key takeaway is that Vermont is not on track to meet our emissions reduction commitments by 2030,” stated Jared Duval, executive director of Energy Action Network. “A big reason why is that Vermont has so far failed to adopt at least one of the policies that have been proven by other states and countries to provide a high degree of confidence in reducing emissions — emissions caps and/or performance standards — for our two most fossil fuel-intensive and climate polluting energy sectors: transportation and heating.”
The report Duval is referring to is an annual publication by the Energy Action Network and can be found online at bit.ly/0909Report
Vermont has done well to curb emissions from the electricity sector, but not so much when it comes to transportation and heating, which make up a larger portion of the state’s emissions, he said.
Passing the Clean Heat Standard would have gone a long way toward curbing those emissions, Duval said, but the bill that would have made it law was vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott in the last legislative session. A veto override then failed by one vote.
“Not having the Clean Heat Standard advance is, it was the single most important emissions reduction strategy in the Climate Action Plan,” said Duval. “Without it or its equivalent, and lots of other policy progress there’s simply no way that we can have any degree of confidence that we would meet those legal requirements.”
If the state doesn’t meet its legal requirements, it can be taken to court by individuals or groups, said Duval, though few would want to see that route taken given the courts are a much blunter tool than a policy would be.
It’s happened before in other states, Duval said, namely Massachusetts.
“What happened was, they were taken to court because it was not believed what the state was planning to do would have achieved those requirements,” Duval said. “So the Massachusetts Supreme Court ordered the state of Massachusetts to come into compliance, which is one of the reasons they significantly ramped up a number of programs, including trying to pass transportation and climate initiatives.”
Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, said Friday that she doesn’t share the Energy Action Network report’s apparent pessimism.
“I’d point to the fact that in the (fiscal year 2023) state budget there are really significant federal funds, through (American Recovery Plan Act) in particular, that have been directed to climate-related initiatives,” she said. “Probably most significant among them is an $80 million investment in weatherization, but there’s also money related to electric vehicles and working with Vermont homeowners and some of our more rural utilities to upgrade service so that homeowners will be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities for beneficial electrification going forward.”
She said there’s an “incredible amount of work” being done by the state related to the environment and climate, and that the 2050 emissions requirement is more important than the 2025 and 2030 requirements.
“This may be me personally more than a position of the agency,” she said, “(but) the 2050 goal is what’s really important. It’s challenging us to essentially decarbonize our lifestyle.”
“The 2025 and 2030 requirements, I don’t want to push us to take actions to meet those requirements that aren’t actually in service of achieving the 2050 goal, because the fact of the matter is: The global environment won’t notice if we miss 2030,” Moore said. “I think that’s where my concern lies.”
The state also is in the rule-making process for adopting the California Clean Car and Clean Truck Standards, “which will ensure significant numbers of electric vehicles are made available for sale in Vermont, and I see that as integral to our overall ability to meet the transportation sector goals that were established in the Global Warming Solutions Act,” Moore said.
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
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