January 28, 2025
Montpelier – Just days after President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to once again pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, Governor Phil Scott – reflected in the budget and policy proposals he put forward today – called to fundamentally retreat from Vermont’s commitment to climate action.
“While Gov. Scott’s rhetoric is very different from Trump’s, both are calling to roll back climate commitments which will effectively lock Vermonters into high-cost, price-volatile fossil fuels – all while there are cleaner, less costly energy solutions at our fingertips,” said Johanna Miller, energy and climate program director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
“Budgets are a reflection of values and priorities, and it is clear that on climate Gov. Scott’s budget aligns more with President Trump and the Republican Party than with the needs of working Vermont families. Anyone who believes Vermonters want their lawmakers to take their cues from Trump’s MAGA agenda is seriously misreading the situation,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, climate and energy program director with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “Vermonters deserve better than lip service towards energy affordability and climate action – they deserve actual action to solve actual problems.”
“Governor Scott grossly overstated the cost of the Clean Heat Standard to score political points – can we even trust him on energy and climate issues?” said Elena Mihaly, Vice President of Conservation Law Foundation Vermont. “From a climate perspective, his budget has Donald Trump written all over it, prioritizing fossil fuel interests over what’s best for our families and businesses. Vermonters don’t want fear-mongering or exaggerated price tags—we want clean energy that’s affordable—that won’t drain our bank accounts or harm the planet. Almost all of us agree on that, so why doesn’t Governor Scott prioritize it?”
“The past two summers of consecutive record flooding have deeply impacted Vermont’s businesses, especially our small businesses across the state. The economic impacts of climate change are here. They are monumental and only beginning,” stated Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Public Policy Manager, Johanna de Graffenreid. “Backing away from our climate commitments now isn’t only retreating on our goals to reduce climate causing emissions, it’s leaving working Vermonters and our local businesses to fend for themselves in the face of increasingly frequent climate disasters.”
“The Governor and his allies have spent more time delaying action than helping mitigate the impacts of climate change. Meanwhile, Vermonters are stuck paying the bills from climate damage and are still dependent on expensive fossil fuels to heat their homes and fuel their vehicles. Vermont should strengthen our climate action policies, and not follow the Trump playbook tied to costly dirty fossil fuels,” said Robb Kidd, Vermont Sierra Club Conservation Program Manager.
Miller added, “While it’s good to see the Governor finally supporting the evolution of Efficiency Vermont’s mission to focus more on climate pollution and reducing energy burdens – something we’ve long pushed for – that step is also radically insufficient. Pair the skyrocketing, billion-dollar price tag from recent climate disasters with the Trump Administration’s potentially budget-busting federal funding freeze, the need for state leadership is more important than ever. Unfortunately, it’s clear once again that Gov. Scott is failing to offer solutions that will actually help Vermonters cut energy costs.”
“Vermonters deserve leaders who will defend existing environmental protections and climate solutions to ensure that communities across the state are safe from the impacts of climate change and have access to affordable, clean energy,” stated Dan Fingas, Executive Director of the Vermont Conservation Voters. “Vermont needs climate solutions, not a furthering of Trump’s backward environmental agenda.”
“As the Governor calls to reduce costs for Vermonters, it makes no sense for him to question whether we should continue our efforts to ask Big Oil – some of the most profitable companies in the world – to help pay for the damage their products have caused,” said Lauren Hierl, executive director of Vermont Natural Resources Council, and Montpelier City Councilor. “As a city councilor from a flood-devastated community, we are now facing a dire budget shortfall – too many of the costs of climate disasters are currently falling on the shoulders of communities like mine.”
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