MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A key piece of the Legislature’s global warming strategy could be shelved. A bill moving through the Vermont Statehouse would repeal the Clean Heat Standard.

It all comes down to money. Democrats in the Legislature have moved to position Vermont as a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But Republicans say Vermonters can’t afford it, and with green energy subsidies expected to get the ax in Congress, Vermont lawmakers are looking at a different approach.

“I just don’t think Vermonters can afford it,” said Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia County.

Pushback in the People’s House over the Clean Heat Standard. The Clean Heat Standard was intended to push Vermonters to adopt clean energy for heating their homes and businesses by placing higher costs on climate-polluting fossil fuels. Estimates show it would cost taxpayers over $950 million over the next decade.

But following the results of the November election and a renewed focus on affordability, lawmakers on the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee believe now may not be the time.

“It’s in the planet’s best interest to reduce carbon usage and carbon emissions, but I think the reality is that we can only go as fast as the technology and the affordability of that technology allows for,” Beck said.

“I think we need to be able to move forward with our climate priorities in a way that is actually affordable for Vermonters,” said Sen. Anne Watson, D-Washington County.

Senate bill S.65 sets a different course forward. It repeals the Clean Heat Standard and instead shifts the focus to improving thermal efficiency and creating a registry for fuel dealers to report their usage.

“There’s no question if Vermont wishes to reduce its greenhouse gas emission, it needs to spend an enormous sum of money. Where does that money come from? That is the question that we grapple with,” said Matt Cota, an energy consultant who serves on the state’s Climate Council.

Cota says in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, people must be given incentives to change.

“That’s going to take money, and it’s unlikely that money is going to come from Washington, D.C. But to take money out of the pockets of people when we’re in an affordability crisis doesn’t seem politically feasible either,” Cota said.

Because the bill is focused on shifting the funding of Efficiency Vermont, lawmakers say there still is a long path forward but there is support on both sides of the aisle for the bill to move forward.

Copyright 2025 WCAX. All rights reserved.