Vermont

26% by 2025 | 40% by 2030 | 80% by 2050

Relative to 1990 levels

Vermont Climate Action Plan

The 1990-2020 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory was published in April 2023.

Vermont Climate Action Office

Inter-Agency Advisory Board

Vermont Climate Council

“Environmental justice focus populations” are census block groups in which the annual median household income is less than 80% of the State median household income, at least 6% of the population are people of color or Indigenous people, or at least 1% of households have limited English proficiency.

The Agency of Natural Resources is required to develop an EJ mapping tool by January 2025.

Interagency Environmental Justice Committee

ANR – Office of Civil Rights and Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice Advisory Council

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) covers the electricity sector.

63% renewable energy by 2025 | 100% by 2030 for utilities serving at least 75,000 customers | 100% by 2035 for utilities serving less than 75,000 customers

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Vermont received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

The statewide energy code for residential construction is the Vermont 2024 Residential Building Energy Standards.

The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is the 2024 Commercial Building Energy Standards, with ASHRAE 90.1-2019 compliance options.

The Vermont Residential Energy Building Standards (RBES) Stretch Code is a building energy code for residential buildings that achieves greater energy savings than the statewide RBES.

The Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances and Equipment apply to 23 products.

The Vermont Clean Heat Standard requires a declining carbon intensity of heating fuels imported into Vermont, as determined by the Public Utility Commission.

Electric utilities are required to achieve energy savings equivalent to 204,000 megawatt hours (MWh) for 2024-2026.

Gas utilities are required to achieve energy savings equivalent to 381,300 million British thermal units (MMBtu) for 2024-2026.

Vermont has enacted residential PACE-enabling legislation, but does not have an active program.

Vermont Low Emission Vehicles Program

Model Year (MY) 2026: 35% of new passenger vehicle sales are ZEVs | MY 2030: 68% of new sales are ZEVs | MY 2035: 100% of new sales are ZEVs, with up to 20% being hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The Low NOx Omnibus Rule applies to Model Year 2026 onwards.

By 2035: 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales are zero-emissions | 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales are zero-emissions | 40% of Class 7-8 tractor sales are zero-emissions.

This act establishes a schedule for when certain products must be manufactured without HFCs.

Hydraulic fracking for the exploration and production of natural gas is banned.

Food waste ban – The state has banned the disposal of food scraps and yard waste at landfills, established separate trash collection processes for organic waste, and requires all food scraps to be diverted to certified recycling facilities, including from both residential and commercial sources.

Vermont established a Soil Conservation Practice and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group to recommend financial incentives for farmers to implement practices to improve soil health, enhance crop resilience, and reduce runoff.

The Environmental Stewardship Program is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural producers to meet high environmental standards including soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon sequestration.