Vermont climate‑plan update pins emissions reductions on EVs, charging and new reporting rules

Julie Moore, Vermont’s secretary of natural resources, told the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 18, 2026, that the updated Climate Action Plan emphasizes transportation as the state’s largest source of greenhouse‑gas emissions and places vehicle electrification and charging infrastructure among the plan’s top priorities.

Moore said the Climate Council updated the plan in July after public outreach and subcommittee work and identified two of the plan’s top‑10 priority actions as directly related to transportation: maintaining and implementing clean‑vehicle standards and expanding electric‑vehicle infrastructure. "The blue portion of that graph ... is the emissions associated with transportation," she said, stressing that meeting statutory goals requires substantial reductions from the sector.

Why it matters: transportation is the single largest emissions source in Vermont, the plan links EV adoption to consumer incentives and charging reliability, and several recommendations will require either new legislation or administrative rulemaking. Moore said the state may need to complete some rulemaking by July 1 if a plan‑directed rule is required, and that the state is preparing for near‑term tasks such as greenhouse‑gas reporting and tracking implementation progress.

Key details from testimony and committee discussion:

- Advanced clean cars/trucks and California standards: Moore described Vermont’s continued interest in participating in California’s advanced clean cars and trucks programs and noted federal challenges that have created regulatory uncertainty. "This has created a considerable amount of uncertainty and chaos in this space," she said, adding Vermont would need to go through its own rulemaking process to remain consistent with California by the end of the calendar year where applicable.

- Greenhouse‑gas reporting vs. inventory: Moore distinguished the statutory greenhouse‑gas inventory (which lags about 2.5 years) from a proposed reporting rule that would require fuel suppliers to report nearer real time (quarterly or annual). She said H.740 in the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee is the bill currently working on a reporting program.

- Funding and NEVI: The plan calls for consistent, long‑term funding for EV incentives and cites analysis from VTrans and a state 'pathways' model. Moore identified the NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program as the primary federal funding source currently available to support charging build‑out.

- Cap‑and‑invest considerations: The plan recommends studying a cap‑and‑invest framework (a multisector cap with allowance sales to fund emissions reductions). Moore said the treasurer's February report found no viable program for Vermont to join now and emphasized the need for robust data and adequate staff to ensure compliance and useful reporting before launching such a program.

- Co‑benefits, smart growth and multimodal options: Committee members and staff discussed elevating smart‑growth and multimodal projects (bike, pedestrian, transit) as cost‑effective ways to amplify limited budgets; Moore highlighted the Downtown Transportation Fund as one existing tool that could be leveraged for active‑transportation priorities.

Moore and colleagues said the Climate Action Office conducted nearly 20 public meetings and other outreach that shaped the update and that the office will publish the 2023 greenhouse‑gas inventory this June. The committee pushed staff to provide more technical briefings from the science and data subcommittee and the state climatologist.

The committee did not take formal action on the plan during the session; Moore framed next steps as requiring both legislative direction and administrative rulemaking where necessary.