Last year, Vermont suffered a catastrophic series of torrential rains that washed out major cities like Montpelier, the state's capital, and the nearby municipality of Barre. Many businesses took months to rebuild and many homeowners were left stranded. Some Vermonters said it was the worst natural disaster to hit the state since a 1927 flood killed dozens of people.
Now, Vermont has become the first state to require oil companies to compensate the public for damages caused by climate change. On Thursday, the Vermont legislature passed a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of damages caused by climate change.
The bill is controversial. Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, issued a public statement saying, “I understand the desire to seek funding to mitigate the effects of climate change that has hurt our state in so many ways." He allowed the bill to become law without his signature because he expressed concern about the costs of what is expected to be a prolonged legal battle.
Scott Lauermann, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, told the National Review that this is a "punitive new fee" that is part of "a coordinated campaign to undermine America’s energy advantage and the economic and national security benefits it provides. Rather than work collaboratively with the industry to further our shared goal for a lower carbon future, state lawmakers opted to pass a bill designed by activists to further their own interests.”
While this may be seen as a win for anyone hoping for better regulation of fossil fuel companies, it will likely entail a long legal battle, the Guardian reports. “We know that big oil will fight this in the courts,” Martin LaLonde, chair of the state’s house judiciary committee, told the outlet. “But, as an attorney myself, and having worked closely with many legal scholars in shaping the bill, I believe we have a solid legal case.”
