MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – An environmental group says it is following through on a threat to sue the state of Vermont over missing a legally mandated carbon reduction target under the Global Warming Solutions Act.

The first benchmark in the state law is in two weeks. The Agency of Natural Resources says it’s on track to meet the goal but the Conservation Law Foundation this week made its case before the Vermont Climate Council arguing that the state’s modeling is off.

“A properly calibrated model says the state is not on track to meet the 2025 GWSA milestone. It shows a plane on a crash course right into the mountain,” said CLF’s Elena Mihaly.

The act, passed in 2020, opened the state to lawsuits if it misses benchmarks in reducing emissions. It comes as Republican lawmakers on Thursday announced they are planning to push back those timelines and remove the ability to sue, saying Vermonters can’t afford the current pace.

“While science has clearly measured the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and linked that increase to a warming planet, Act 153 and its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050 ignores many scientific and technological realities: economics, the limits of alternative energy, and Vermont’s winter climate,” incoming Senate Republican Leader Scott Beck said in a statement.

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