The Vermont Legislature is advancing legislation requiring big fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. The state Senate is expected to give final approval this week to the proposal, which would create a program that fossil fuel companies would pay into for climate change adaption projects in Vermont. It will then be considered in the House.
Maryland, Massachusetts and New York are considering similar measures, but Vermont's bill is moving quicker through the Legislature. Critics, including Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who is up against a veto-proof Democratic majority, warn that it could be a costly legal battle for the small state to go first. 'Of all the fossil fuel companies in the world, we’re a mosquito compared to a giant,' said Republican state Sen. Randy Brock on Friday after he voted against it.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski said in a statement on Monday that she looks forward to reviewing the bill and assessing its impact toward the state’s climate change goals. She said she’s eager for House committees to look at this and other climate change policies in the second half of the legislative session. Hashim,the Democratic senator from Windham County, said the reality is that severe weather patterns are here and will happen more frequently and become more damaging over time.