![On July 12, 2023, a small tractor removes water from the workplace when the streets are blocked by floods in Vermont. Vermont has become the first state to enact a bill that requires fossil fuel companies to pay part of the damage caused by climate change. On Thursday, May 30, 2024, the stock was damaged by the flood of summer and other extreme weather.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4383x3287+274+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe4%2F2e%2F0cd4c0c54e238de61b8348530ade%2Fap24152529285068.jpg)
On July 12, 2023, a small tractor removes water from the workplace when the streets are blocked by floods in Vermont. Vermont has become the first state to enact a bill that requires fossil fuel companies to pay part of the damage caused by climate change. After the stock is fatally damaged by the fatal summer flood and other extreme climate.
Charles Crufa/AP/AP
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Charles Crufa/AP/AP
Vermont has become the first state to enact a method of requiring a fossil fuel company to pay part of the damage caused by climate change after suffering from the disaster summer flood and other extreme climate.
The Republican Governor Phil Scott says he is very concerned about the cost and consequences that will be enacted by the law without his signature late on Thursday, and will have a fierce legal fight with “large oil” alone. But he admitted that he understood that he had to take action to solve the damage of climate change.
Scott, a member of Vermont Modern Republic, wrote to the lawmakers, “I understand the desire to seek funds to alleviate the influence of climate change that harmed our Lord in many ways.”
The popular governor, who recently announced that he will run for the fifth re -election of his two -year term, has been in conflict with the parliamentary parliamentary dominant Democratic Party and said it has been broken. He expected to reject the bill from environmental advocates, but allowed the bill to be enacted. Scott told lawmakers that they were comforted by the fact that the Natural Resources Agency had to report to Congress again about the feasibility of effort.
In July, the floods caused by heavy rains were flooded with Mont Filiers, the leaders of Vermont, and some local communities in the southern Toshiba, and southern Vermont. Some people have regarded them as the worst natural disasters since the 1927 flood, which killed dozens of lives and brought extensive destruction. It took a few months to reconstruct a company, from the restaurant to the store, and missed the summer and autumn season. Some houses have recently opened again, with housing owners who have been damaged by floods in the cold season.
In accordance with this bill, Vermont's Treasurer will discuss with natural resources and provide a report on the total costs of Vermont residents and state governments until January 15, 2026, from January 1, 1995. , ~ December 31, 2024. The evaluation examines the impact on public health, natural resources, agriculture, economic development, housing and other sectors. The state uses federal data to determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by fossil fuel companies.
This is a pollution -paying model that affects a company that extracts fossil fuels, extracts fossil fuels, or businesses in business, which extract fossil fuels or refine crude oil due to more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions during this period. The funds can be used for the same purpose as the rainwater drainage system upgrade in the state. Road, bridges and railway upgrades; Relocation of the sewage treatment plant, ascension or modification; Energy efficiency upgrades of public and private buildings are performed. This is based on the Federal SUPERFUND pollution purification program.
Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said in a statement that “for too long, giant fossil fuel companies have deliberately lit the climate without taking measures to turn off the fire.” He said. “Finally, for the first time, Vermont will be the first to be responsible for companies with the greatest responsibility for floods, fires, and heat waves.”
Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York are considering similar measures.
The American Petroleum Institute, the best lobbying organization of the oil and gas industry, said, “The legitimate legitimate relocation activities are retroactively imposed and responsible for the company's responsibility for the act of equal protection. It is to infringe on legitimate procedures, ”he said. In general; It is preoccupied by federal law. ”
A spokesman for Scott Lauer said in a Friday statement, “This punitive fee represents another stage of the organizational campaign to weaken the US energy advantages and its economy and national security benefits.”
Congressman Vermont knows that the stock will face legal issues, but the Governor worrys about what it means in the cost and other states if Vermont fails.
Martin Lalonde, a Democratic Party and a lawyer, believes that Vermont has a solid legal lawsuit. He said in a statement that legislators have worked closely with many lawyers to write legislation.
“The most important thing is that it is too high and too expensive to release a company that has made it a cluttered company that will help Vermont residents to clean up.”