A national conservative group backed by oil money is spending heavily to weaken Vermont’s climate policies, challenging the state’s efforts to curb fossil fuel use.
Austyn Gaffney reports for Grist in partnership with VTDigger.
In short:
- Americans for Prosperity, funded by the Koch family, is pushing to overturn Vermont’s climate laws through digital campaigns, mailers, and public events, targeting measures like the Affordable Heat Act and the Global Warming Solutions Act.
- The group’s New England director, Ross Connolly, said their mission is to counter “radical” progressive policies and promote deregulation, despite none of the group's key organizers living in Vermont.
- Vermont has become a strategic testing ground for this approach, with Americans for Prosperity expanding its influence through local lobbying efforts and events while also settling a $3,000 fine for a campaign finance violation.
Key quote:
“The goal of the Affordable Heat Act is to help insulate Vermonters from fossil-fuel price swings, and to make it easier and more affordable for them to transition – if they want to – to more sustainable energy sources.”
— Jill Krowinski, Vermont House Speaker
Why this matters:
Vermont is on the front lines of a broader national strategy by fossil fuel interests to derail state-level climate action. The state's efforts to shift away from heating oil and toward electric heat pumps reflect a larger movement to cut carbon emissions from residential energy use. But this transition threatens the profits of entrenched oil interests, which are now using dark money groups to fight back. Americans for Prosperity, created and funded by Koch Industries, has long played a leading role in denying climate science and obstructing environmental regulation. Its entry into Vermont politics signals an intensification of these tactics in even the most progressive states.
Related: Vermont climate goals face setbacks as federal support disappears
