Vermont will reportedly become the first state in the nation to require oil companies to pay for “damage” from “climate change.”
The state’s “Climate Superfund Act,” became law without Republican governor Phil Scott’s signature and seeks to assess financial penalties for emissions generated between 1995 and 2024.
“I understand the desire to seek funding to mitigate the effects of climate change that has hurt our state in so many ways. I also note Attorney General Clark and Treasurer Pieciak have endorsed this policy and committed to the work it will require. I’m also comforted by the fact that the Agency of Natural Resources is required to report back to the Legislature in January 2025 on the feasibility of this effort, so we can reassess our go-it-alone approach,” Scott said in a statement.
Scott expressed concerns over the bill, saying the program is “not positioning [us] for success.”
A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, the primary oil and gas trade group, criticized the legislation.
“This punitive new fee represents yet another step in a coordinated campaign to undermine America’s energy advantage and the economic and national security benefits it provides,” the group wrote. “Rather than work collaboratively with the industry to further our shared goal for a lower carbon future, state lawmakers opted to pass a bill designed by activists to further their own interests.”
