Carbon Tax
Members should be advised that it is anticipated that the 2020 Vermont State Legislative session will be focusing on carbon tax legislation. There was some activity in the past, but all indications are that it will really heat up in the upcoming session.
Already in In October, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger proposed a sliding-scale statewide carbon fee. The proposed fee would start off as a roughly 30-cent per gallon tax and reach up to a $1.70 per gallon tax on motor and heating oil. The Mayor indicated that the size of the proposed carbon tax would grow from $200 million to an astonishing $1 billion, potentially reducing our Vermont’s GDP by 1%.
Vermont State Attorney General Joins Lawsuit to Preserve California’s ACCS
On 11/15/19, Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced that the State of Vermont will be joining a coalition of other states to file a lawsuit opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to revoke portions of a waiver it previously granted to the State of California permitting the state to implement its greenhouse gas (GHG) and zero emission vehicle (ZEV) standards. The action, filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, is part of the states’ ongoing fight to protect California’s Advanced Clean Car Standards. The California standards, which are more protective than those established by the federal government, are followed, in whole or in part, by 13 other states – including Vermont. They are a key part of state-level efforts to protect public health, clean air, and the environment.
US Pulling Out of Paris Climate Deal
On 11/4/19, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated that he submitted a formal notice to the United Nations. That starts a withdrawal process that does not become official for a year. His statement touted America’s carbon pollution cuts and called the Paris deal an “unfair economic burden” to the U.S. economy.
US Government Affairs Updates
(as reported by ASHRAE.org, 11-21-19, partial topics listing)
House Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on DOE Role in Addressing Climate Change
House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Hearing on Creating a Climate Resilient America
DOE Webinar on Zero Energy Buildings
Cambridge, MA Announces Latest Energy Efficiency Program
For detailed information on the above topics, visit the ASHRAE Government Affairs Update website page at:
https://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/email_web_version.cfm?publish=newsletter&user_id=ASHRAE&message_id=17748787
Dick Wilcox
GAC Committee Chair