Witness tells House committee H.740 is foundational for tracking fuel suppliers' emissions

Jared Duvall, a member of the Vermont Climate Council, told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee that H.740 — a bill to establish a greenhouse gas reporting registry for fuel suppliers — is “the single most important bill before the committee” because supplier-level data is a necessary precursor to effective pollution- and cost-reduction policies.

Duvall said Vermont currently has reliable statewide greenhouse-gas estimates through the Agency of Natural Resources’ inventory, but it lacks information tying those emissions to specific fossil-fuel companies. “If you don't measure it, you can't improve it,” he said, arguing that knowing who imports and sells gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and propane in Vermont is essential to holding companies accountable and designing targeted policy.

Duvall noted the Climate Action Plan adopted by the Vermont Climate Council lists developing a framework for reporting greenhouse-gas emissions from fuel suppliers among its top recommendations. He pointed to regional and state precedents — including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and reporting tied to clean-fuel and cap-and-invest programs in California, Oregon, Washington and New York — as models for a first-step reporting requirement.

Committee members pressed for technical details. Duvall explained that tax-department records of gallons sold do not contain fuel-type or bio-content data needed to calculate emissions precisely: blends of biofuels and fossil fuels have different emissions profiles. He said H.740 is written so suppliers would report types and volumes of fuels sold, while the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) would perform emissions calculations and quality-control work.

On scope and thresholds, Duvall said he had not endorsed a fixed tonnage threshold and favored reviewing what other states require (he referenced New York’s 10,000-ton threshold as an example). He discussed the challenge of attributing mobile transportation fuels versus heating fuels and said county- or regional-level detail might be achievable for heating fuels if suppliers report delivery locations or if ANR sorts reported data.

Members also questioned staffing and costs for implementation. Duvall described conversations with officials in Oregon, saying that state found an upfront cost to build a reporting platform and a smaller ongoing staff burden to manage reports, perform spot audits and ensure quality. He deferred to ANR about whether the agency’s current request for two full-time positions would cover Vermont’s needs.

Duvall put the proposal in economic context: he cited an estimate that Vermonters spend more than $2,000,000,000 a year on fossil fuels, that transportation and thermal sectors account for roughly 72 percent of the state’s climate pollution, and that electricity accounts for about 3 percent. He argued supplier-level reporting would improve the inventory and give Vermont greater control over data as federal sources evolve.

Chair Kathleen James thanked Duvall and the committee planned to resume at 1 p.m. with additional testimony on H.753 and then hear from the Public Utility Commission on its FY27 budget; the committee said it would return to H.740 later in the meeting.