The Vermont Senate voted 23 – 5 today to pass S.R. 7 – a resolution recognizing that climate change is real and primarily driven by human activity.
By passing the resolution, the Senate also renewed Vermont’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions.
The move by the Vermont Senate comes at a time when accepted climate science is under attack from some federal lawmakers and politicians in other states. Officials in Wisconsin and Florida have made moves in recent months to ban use of the terms climate change and global warming. In January, the U.S. Senate voted to recognize that global warming is real, but refused to go as far as to acknowledge that it was mostly caused by human activities. And in February, the chair of U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee brought a snowball on to the Senate floor to demonstrate his belief that global warming is a hoax.
S.R.7 recognizes that “climate change is a real and present danger to the health and well-being of all Vermonters,” and states that it is “imperative Vermont fulfill its stewardship responsibilities, as expressed in the State’s statutory goals for reduced greenhouse gas emissions, by taking steps now to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.”
VPIRG Energy and Democracy Advocate Julia Michel said today’s vote sends a clear message:
“The Vermont Senate believes in science and cares about the future. That’s a good thing.”