VTGOP Calls on AG Clark to Provide Recommendations of Legislative Changes to Avoid Lawsuit Under Global Warming Solutions Act

Last month on July 23rd, the Conservation Law Foundation filed a notice of lawsuit against the State of Vermont regarding a provision of the Global Warming Solutions Act. The notice indicated a 60-day period where CLF was “willing to discuss effective remedies” from the lawsuit.

VTGOP Chairman Paul Dame issued the following statement now that half of that notice period has passed by.

“Vermonters want to avoid a lawsuit without breaking our bank. I am calling on AG Charity Clark to provide recommendations to the legislature about how the state of Vermont can reduce our exposure to legal risks in the next legislative session. As Republicans have said from the beginning, these goals were unattainable given the currently available technology, but now the state is getting dragged in to court for completely avoidable reasons. The Attorney General needs to provide the state with sound counsel about how we get ourselves out of the mess that Democrats have created by putting taxpayer money at risk in the “protracted litigation” that is being threatened by the Conservation Law Foundation. The Attorney General should make a series of recommendations about which provisions of the Global Warming Solutions Act need to be repealed so that this lawsuit will not adversely impact Vermont taxpayers while we work on addressing our environmental goals within the means we have available.”

Since notice of the lawsuit was provided the Attorney General’s office has not made any public statements or given any reassurances to taxpayers that they will fight to defend Vermonters from an expensive lawsuit like this.

The lawsuit provision in the GWSA become more relevant on the national level last week when Vice President Harris participated in her first recorded and edited interview since becoming the Presidential Nominee and made a vague reference to dealing with climate change with “deadlines around time”.

“There is little doubt to me that at the heart of Vice President Harris’s word salad was a dog whistle to climate alarmists in reference to Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act,” said Chairman Dame. "It was a nod to the most unreasonable and uncompromising climate extremists who are likely aware of the law - while the average person heard what he said and just scratched their head and brushed it off. But this law is nothing to ignore.  Vermont has become a petri dish for some of the most extreme progressive ideas, and this is among the worst. Out Attorney General has been MIA with this highly anticipated lawsuit pending and many Vermonters are uncertain of how, or if, she is going to defend our taxpayers from this lawfare.”

Chairman Dame has already called on AG Clark to promise a “vigorous response” for state taxpayers in July when the lawsuit was first announced. Still no comment from the Attorney General. After that last demand the VTGOP was able to recruit Ture Nelson of Berlin to run against Charity Clark for the office of Attorney General.