VNRC's 2007 Legislative Agenda to Combat Climate Change

To help tackle the monumental challenge of climate change, VNRC is working on many levels. We are marrying our roots in conservation with new, locally-based and innovative solutions. We continue to advance conservation strategies that will help keep Vermont’s forests and farmlands working and free from development. And we remain deeply involved in state and local land use efforts that will foster compact, walkable, vibrant communities surrounded by open countryside.

As always, along with our grassroots efforts, VNRC is working alongside leaders this legislative session to help create and advance far-reaching policy changes that will help meet the needs that conservation alone cannot. With climate change outlined as high priority by leadership in the House and Senate, this legislative session offers tremendous opportunity to chart a new course for Vermont.

VNRC will work this legislative session to press lawmakers and Governor Jim Douglas to take action on the following legislative initiatives:

Expand conservation and efficiency. The state’s energy efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, has done an excellent job helping Vermonters cut their electricity use. But Vermont can and must do much better at conserving energy. VNRC supports expanding Efficiency Vermont’s mandate to provide conservation and money-saving assistance for all energy sources, including home heating and transportation.

Continue land use and smart growth efforts. VNRC has long championed land use policies that direct development toward town centers and keep Vermont’s farmlands, fields, and forests wild or working landscapes. This type of compact development is an essential piece of any effort to combat climate change. Vermont can cut down on the largest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions, cars and trucks, by creating communities where Vermonters can live, work, and play, thus reducing driving. VNRC will push for implementation of the Growth Centers legislation passed in 2006 and work to expand its reach to help protect rural resource lands.

Encourage renewable power. Although Vermont’s utilities buy power that emits relatively low amounts of greenhouse gasses, Vermont must be even more aggressive in requiring utilities to buy power from renewable sources, like wind or hydro. As such, VNRC supports H.127, a bill aimed at expanding Vermont’s Renewable Energy Portfolio to support increased use of renewable energy sources.

Study a global warming surcharge. At least nine European countries, among them Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom, have enacted policies which discourage the pollution that causes global warming. In Finland, which has the highest carbon charge in Europe, carbon dioxide emissions fell by seven percent between 1990 and 1998. Vermont could be the first state in the nation to adopt this successful European strategy to combat global warming. With the added revenue from a pollution surcharge, lawmakers could cut Vermonters’ payroll or income taxes. VNRC would support a tax only if was not regressive, meaning that it would offer some type of break for low-income populations.

Increase incentives for fuel-efficient cars. Lawmakers should pass an incentive to encourage people to buy more fuel-efficient cars. The Legislature is currently considering S.35, which would add a fuel efficiency surcharge on the sale of gas-guzzlers.