Vermont Climate Council members outline draft Climate Action Plan, warn funding and implementation remain unresolved

Jared Duvall, an appointed member of the Vermont Climate Council, and Richard Cowart, co‑chair of the council's Cross Sector Mitigation Subcommittee, told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on March 20 that the council has drafted priority recommendations for Vermont's revised Climate Action Plan and is seeking public feedback ahead of a July 1, 2025 deadline.

"The primary responsibility of the Climate Council is to draft and then every 4 years revise and update the state's climate action plan," Duvall said, describing the council's role under the Global Warming Solutions Act.

Nut graf: The speakers said substantial technical work and public engagement are underway, but emphasized the distinction between the council's advisory role and the separate responsibility held by the administration and the legislature to implement policies and provide sustained funding. They identified three high‑impact recommendations from the first plan (the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, a regional cap‑and‑invest idea tied to the Transportation and Climate Initiative, and a clean heat standard) and said only Advanced Clean Cars II had been implemented to date.

Duvall and Cowart described how the council produces recommendations. Duvall said councilors have become the primary authors of chapters for the current revision and that subcommittees and workgroups produced draft material through repeated meetings (the transcript records a thermal workgroup meeting roughly 18 times in the fall and winter). He said the council will increase meeting frequency as it approaches the July 1 deadline and that draft priority recommendations have been shared…