Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment & Energy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Youth lobby urges House energy committee to reject H.289 and defend Global Warming Solutions Act
Summary
High-school students from the Vermont Youth Lobby told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on March 13 that H.289 would roll back the state—s climate commitments and urged lawmakers to preserve the Global Warming Solutions Act and its climate planning work.
Members of the Vermont Youth Lobby told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee at the State House in Montpelier on Thursday, March 13, that they oppose H.289 and urged lawmakers to preserve the Global Warming Solutions Act.
The students, who said they travel statewide to lobby on climate issues, framed the vote as one that would affect future generations and asked legislators to reject H.289 and maintain the state—s science-based climate requirements. "Please take time to listen to what we are saying and vote no on H.289," said Cora Fox, a sophomore at Harwood Union High School.
The testimony emphasized two central points: that the Global Warming Solutions Act provides enforceable planning and accountability for greenhouse-gas reductions, and that repealing or weakening it now would shift long-term costs and risks to younger Vermonters. Dahlia Cohen, who described herself as a youth representative on the Vermont Climate Council's Rural Resilience and Adaptation subcommittee, said the act and its climate action plan were "seeds" sown for future generations and asked legislators, "What seeds will you sow today?"
Other students tied climate impacts to local experiences. Quincy Sabik, a student from Addison County, said residents there are already confronting tax and economic pressures while noting environmental harms tied to climate change. "The climate crisis is not something we can put a Band‑Aid on or shove aside to prioritize other issues," Sabik said, arguing that climate and economic concerns must be addressed together.
Several students recounted the history of youth engagement around the Global Warming Solutions Act: they noted that youth lobbyists organized a climate declaration and participated in earlier lobbying that helped build support for the 2020 law. Speakers cited scientific reports while urging the committee not to abandon the law's targets and oversight structures; one speaker referenced an analysis published in Earth System Dynamics and a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to underscore the urgency of near‑term action, as presented in their testimony.
Committee members thanked the youth for testifying and asked questions about how the students organize and carry their message back to their communities. Lawmakers and staff who spoke at the hearing framed the State House as the youths' civic space and encouraged continued engagement. The session recorded only testimony and questions; the committee did not take a formal vote on H.289 during this meeting.
The hearing also surfaced local climate concerns raised by students, including flooding and lake pollution from agricultural runoff in Addison County, and losses to winter recreation linked to changing weather patterns. Speakers connected those local impacts to broader policy choices, urging sustained climate planning rather than rollback.
No committee action on H.289 was recorded in the transcript from this session; students asked the committee to preserve the Global Warming Solutions Act's planning and accountability mechanisms and to oppose H.289. The committee accepted written copies of testimony to post on its website following the hearing.
