We’ve recently wrapped up a busy, successful – and, in some cases, challenging – legislative session. VPIRG members helped win some exciting victories on environmental justice, getting mercury out of lighting in Vermont, a record-setting $200 million for climate action in the budget, and more! But we also faced some disappointments–falling just short in our …
We recently heard that Governor Phil Scott is considering vetoing the environmental justice bill, S.148, which passed with overwhelming tri-partisan support in both the Senate (28-1) and House (109-31). In this last week of the legislative session, and with reports that they will not hold a session where they could override his veto, he can enact …
Don’t Let Gov. Scott Sink the Environmental Justice Bill Read More »
A Win For Big Oil And Keeping Vermonters Tethered To Polluting & Costly Heating Systems After the Vermont House narrowly failed to override the Governor’s veto of the Clean Heat Standard (H.715) on a 99-51 vote, Vermont has once again delayed essential climate progress. The Clean Heat Standard – a performance-based approach that would require …
Governor Scott And A Minority Of Lawmakers Stymie Climate Progress Read More »
Governor Scott’s veto of the Clean Heat Standard (H.715) disregards years of hard work to design an approach to strategically and equitably transform the fossil fuel heating sector.
S.148, the environmental justice bill, is headed to the governor’s desk! After initially passing out of the State Senate in late March, the Senate has now concurred with the version of the bill passed resoundingly by the House just days ago. This legislative victory puts Vermont on track to enact its first environmental justice law, …
Today, community leaders and legislators gathered in Montpelier to call for passage of the state’s first comprehensive Environmental Justice bill, S.148. Leaders discussed environmental justice issues in Vermont, and the actions being taken to remedy known inequities among impacted populations. Vermont is one of only a handful of states that lacks an environmental justice policy, …
Community Leaders & Lawmakers Call for Passage of Environmental Justice Bill Read More »
This guest blog post was written by VPIRG Intern Charlie Dobson, of Bennington, who is currently a senior at Holderness School Earlier this month, the International Panel on Climate Change released its third and final section of its Sixth Assessment Report on where the world sits in the battle against climate change. Each section had …
The State Senate just took a major step towards environmental justice (EJ) in Vermont. S.148, which would be the state’s first environmental justice law, passed Tuesday on an overwhelming, tri-partisan 28-1 vote. We at VPIRG have joined dozens of groups supporting this bill because we see it as an essential step to bring more communities …
The FY23 budget includes over $110 million in investments to cut climate pollution, with the significant majority of that funding going to programs aimed at helping low- and moderate-income Vermonters cut their energy bills and fully participate in the transition off of fossil fuels. The House has also already voted to support H.518, the municipal energy …
We’re halfway through the 2022 legislative session in Vermont, and though our work continues to look a little different due to the ongoing pandemic, we have made significant progress across the board on our legislative priorities. From the continuing fight for Bottle Bill modernization to advancing a landmark climate legislation, read on to see where …
