FILE — This image made from drone footage provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets shows flooding in Montpelier, Vt., Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The Vermont legislature is advancing a bill that would require fossil fuel producers to pay for some of the state’s recovery costs from climate-related storms. FILE - A small tractor clears water from a business as flood waters block a street, July 12, 2023, in Barre, Vt.
Maryland, Massachusetts and New York are considering similar measures, but Vermont’s bill is moving quicker through the Legislature. He referenced the fact that Exxonmobil’s annual sales are $344.6 billion, while Vermont’s annual budget is about $8.5 billion, saying he’d rather see New York or California or another state be first.
It’s a polluter-pays model affecting companies engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil attributable to more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during the time period.
Jennifer Rushlow, dean of the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment and a professor of law at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said Monday that she thinks Vermont will face legal challenges if the bill becomes law but expects the state to win. Several environmental law clinics have offered to provide support, which could offset the costs, she said.