Happy New Year and welcome back to our weekly legislative Climate Dispatch! We are also excited to introduce and invite you to follow our partner Vermont Conservation Voters’ weekly Democracy Dispatch podcast (new episodes every Monday of the session).

This is going to be a big, important year – and we’re going to need to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate with as many allies and partners as possible. That’s because the 2024 election brought big changes to the Vermont Legislature. The session kicked off earlier this week, and with new committee chairs, a new committee, and dozens of new legislators, it’s clear we will have to be vigilant to protect historic climate progress and do more to safeguard clean air, clean water, and vibrant, healthy communities. What hasn’t changed is the democratic majority in the House and Senate and the urgent need for Vermont to continue to move forward to combat the climate crisis.

Once again this year we will be hitting your email boxes regularly on Fridays with a Climate Dispatch including the latest news from the State House and details on how you can take action to help move our much-needed climate solutions forward. We’re also integrating the VCV Democracy Dispatch into our offerings–every Monday there will be a fresh episode available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you want a reminder when the Democracy Dispatch is released and a link to the show, sign up for VCV’s email list here.

Today’s episode

On today’s episode, we welcome new Climate Dispatch host and newly appointed Vermont Conservation Voters executive director Dan Fingas and give an overview of how we will cover this session.

Call to Action

Make sure your friends and neighbors stay informed on the latest news and action alerts from the State House by sharing the Climate Dispatch sign-up and the VCV email list to get the Democracy Dispatch.

We look forward to working with you to make much-needed climate progress this coming session.