{"id":2262889,"date":"2024-06-08T11:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-08T15:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-vermont-law-requires-fossil-fuel-industry-to-pay-for-climate-change-damage\/"},"modified":"2024-06-08T11:15:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T15:15:10","slug":"new-vermont-law-requires-fossil-fuel-industry-to-pay-for-climate-change-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-vermont-law-requires-fossil-fuel-industry-to-pay-for-climate-change-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"New Vermont legislation mandates that the fossil fuel industry compensates for climate change-related damages"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-vermont-law-requires-fossil-fuel-industry-to-pay-for-climate-change-damage%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2262889&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ens\u2062 are responsible for,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Vermont has \u200dbecome \u2062the\u200b first state to pass \u200ba\u200d law requiring the fossil fuel industry\u2064 to pay for the costs associated \u200cwith climate change. This law was enacted without the signature \u200bof Republican Governor\u2064 Philip Scott, who \u2064expressed concerns about the potential \u2064costs and legal challenges.\u200d However, he was \u200dreassured by the support of the state&#8217;s attorney general and treasurer, as \u200dwell as a report from the Vermont Agency of Natural \u2063Resources on the \u2063feasibility of the program. The law targets entities that have released over one \u200dbillion metric\u200d tons\u2064 of carbon dioxide from 1995 to 2024 and\u2064 will charge them for a range of\u200d projects aimed at\u2062 mitigating the effects\u2063 of climate change. The decision \u2063has been\u200c met with criticism from industry groups,\u200b who argue that the bill is based on unproven science and will ultimately raise prices for \u2063consumers. There are also concerns\u2062 about the \u200blegality of \u2064holding out-of-state companies responsible for global emissions and shifting the blame\u2062 away from the\u200b state and its citizens.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 Vermont is the first state to enact a law requiring the fossil fuel industry to pay for \u201cclimate change cost recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bill became law without Republican Gov. Philip Scott signing it. In a May 30 letter to the Vermont General Assembly, he explained why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVermont \u2013 one of the least populated states with the lowest GDP in the country \u2013 has decided to recover costs associated with climate change on its own,\u201d he said. Vermont\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-official-trump-crushes-record-for-largest-gdp-increase-in-us-history-3rd-quarter-gdp-up-33-1\/\" title=\"IT'S OFFICIAL: Trump Crushes Record for Largest GDP Increase in US History -- 3rd Quarter GDP Up 33.1%\">gross domestic product<\/a> last year was slightly more than $35 billion.<\/p>\n<p>He admitted he was \u201cdeeply concerned about both short- and long-term costs and outcomes\u201d and \u201cfearful that if we fail in this legal challenge, it will set precedent and hamper other states\u2019 ability to recover damages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But because Vermont\u2019s attorney general and treasurer endorsed the law, and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources [VANR] \u201cis required to report back to the Legislature in January 2025 on the feasibility of this effort,\u201d Scott said he was \u201ccomforted.\u201d The VANR report will enable Vermont to \u201creassess our go-it-alone approach,\u201d he said. \u201cFor these reasons, this bill will become law without my signature. I hope those who endorsed this policy will follow through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The law penalizes \u201cany entity \u2026 that during \u2026 the covered period was engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil\u201d that VANR determined \u201cis attributable to for more than one billion metric tons of covered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead of raising taxes, cutting spending, or allocating funds to cover extreme weather costs, the Vermont legislature created the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program to charge the fossil fuel industry for its \u201cClimate Change Adaptation Projects.\u201d The projects were created \u201cto respond to, avoid, \u2026 or adapt to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-bidens-dog-commander-had-at-least-24-biting-incidents-with-secret-service-new-documents-show\/\" title=\"New documents reveal Joe Biden's dog Commander involved in 24 biting incidents with Secret Service\">negative impacts caused<\/a> by climate change and assist human and natural communities, households, and businesses in preparing for future climate-change-driven disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The projects include \u201cflood protections; home buyouts; upgrading stormwater drainage systems, \u2026 roads, bridges, railroads, and transit systems; preparing for and recovering from extreme weather events; providing medical care \u2026 caused by \u2026 climate change; \u2026 sewage treatment plants; \u2026 energy efficient cooling systems; upgrading the electrical grid \u2026 including \u2026 self-sufficient microgrids; responding to toxic algae blooms; agricultural topsoil loss; threats to forests, farms, fisheries, and food systems,\u201d among many others.<\/p>\n<p>Entities VANR determines released more than one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from 1995 to 2024 will be required to pay Vermont a monetary amount it determines.<\/p>\n<p>The legislature allocated $600,000 for VANR to conduct an analysis \u201cthat will need to withstand intense legal scrutiny from a well-funded defense, we are not positioning ourselves for success,\u201d Scott said. \u201cTaking on \u2018Big Oil\u2019 should not be taken lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClimate superfund bills are another billionaire-backed attempt to decimate the American energy industry using unproven attribution science,\u201d Mandi Risko, a spokesperson for Energy In Depth, an educational outreach campaign of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, told The Center Square. \u201cJust like climate litigation, these bills do little to advance real solutions and instead will raise prices on consumers by haphazardly penalizing a lawful and necessary industry on which we all depend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Western Energy Alliance president Katheleen Sgamma also raised concerns. \u201cIt seems very legally tenuous to go after companies located outside the state for supposed impacts from climate change which are diffuse globally and nonattributable to any particular company,\u201d she told The Center Square.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClimate scientists haven\u2019t figured out a way to determine if weather events are related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-believe-climate-change-is-happening-but-are-only-willing-to-pay-1-in-carbon-tax-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Americans Believe Climate Change Is Happening But Are Only Willing To Pay  In Carbon Tax, Poll Shows\">human-caused climate change<\/a>, so how will Vermont determine damages and which companies are responsible?\u201d she asked. \u201cBut perhaps the biggest problem is that Vermont attempts to shift blame for the greenhouse gas emissions that the state and its citizens emit so that they can drive their cars, turn on the light switch, and heat their homes. They want all the benefits of oil and natural gas but none of the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Vermont, Texas\u2019 legislature and governor have taken a different approach \u2013 fostering domestic production. Texas leads the U.S. in production and emissions reductions.<\/p>\n<p>Texas\u2019 oil and natural gas industry also <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_cf33e4ec-c10b-11ee-867f-b3f3eddd004f.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">paid a record<\/a><\/strong> more than $26.3 billion in taxes last fiscal year \u2013 nearly as much as Vermont\u2019s GDP. It finances three state funds (public schools, highway maintenance and reserves) and pays hundreds of millions of dollars to counties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike some other states, including Vermont, Texas elected officials practice critical thinking and understand the importance of maintaining a pro-business environment by adopting sensible, not ideological or politically motivated, energy policy,\u201d Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, told The Center Square. \u201cTexas continues to lead: providing access to affordable and reliable energy that fuels our state, country, and allies, from an economic and energy security perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The west Texas Permian Basin is leading in production and emissions reductions. As production increased by 416%, methane emissions intensity fell by nearly 85% over the same 10-year time-period. In 2022, the Permian reached its lowest methane intensity in a record production year, The Center Square first <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_1c5d9398-a123-11ee-89dd-5759b508f6ff.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese results are a testament to the dedication and innovation of the entire oil and gas industry, with Texas leading the way,\u201d Longanecker said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vermont has become the first state to mandate that the fossil fuel industry covers &#8220;climate change cost recovery&#8221; costs. The legislation was enacted without the signature of Republican Governor Philip Scott. In a letter dated May 30 to the Vermont General Assembly, Governor Scott detailed his reasons for not signing the bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2262890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP23023763163758-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2262889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP23023763163758-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2262890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}