HARDWICK – Area residents gathered at the Hardwick Town House for the first of seven in-person opportunities state-wide to learn about and weigh in on the 2025 update of Vermont’s Climate Action Plan, Monday evening, April 14.
Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act, passed in 2020, established a Climate Action Council that was charged with creating and updating a Vermont Climate Action Plan. That first plan was adopted in December of 2021. The second plan is due this year on July 1.
Climate councilors held a virtual session on April 10 and are now traveling around the state to collect public input.
Hardwick’s meeting Monday night was the opportunity for over 40 Northeast Kingdom residents to come together, learn about the plan and share their suggestions. Some were new to the topic, using the meeting as a chance to learn about Vermont’s climate plans. Others were well-versed in the topic, and offered their suggestions about the strategies that had been developed since this update process began in the spring of 2024.
Folks from Hardwick, Greensboro and Craftsbury were in attendance, plus some from neighboring towns that included Danville and St. Johnsbury, and at least one visitor from Newport made the trip.
Lucy Zendzian, who serves on Hardwick’s Conservation Commission, said she’d just come from a meeting of that group, whose work she sees as being connected preparation for climate change. She attended to learn about the state’s planning process and felt she got a good overview, though she was in awe of the sheer complexity of the tasks being laid out.
Liz Steel, on the Greensboro Energy Committee said she came to the meeting and serves because she’s “concerned about the climate our children will inherit.” She said she was encouraged by the priorities being addressed and is concerned by the lack of federal support.
Craftsbury’s Gina Campoli, who serves on the Vermont Climate Council, said she thought hearing the distilled reactions from Vermonter’s is good for the council.
“These types of meetings show we are able to have constructive dialogue around tough issues,” said David Plumb, with the Consensus Building Institute, who moderated the meeting.
Plumb welcomed attendees, explained the process for the evening and introduced Sophi Veltrop, community engagement coordinator with the Agency of Natural Resources Climate Action Office.
Veltrop gave an introduction and overview of the current climate landscape in Vermont, noting that Vermont ranks seventh among U.S. states for the highest number of federal declared disasters and fourth for the highest per capita disaster assistance money.
She said four of Vermont’s counties rank in the top 10 for total disasters from 2011 to 2024 with Washington County taking the top spot, Lamoille in third, Essex in sixth, followed by Orleans in seventh. Merrimack County in New Hampshire ranked second, with five Kentucky Counties filling out the rest.
A graph of projections for Vermont climate risks identified extreme heat and heavy precipitation as the two with strong confidence in future increases. Little change is projected in thunder-storm winds, decreases in extreme cold very likely and lower annual snowfall less so, said Veltrop.
A look at the sources of Vermont’s energy identified only 25% of fossil fuel energy spending recirculating in Vermont with the other 75% leaving the State’s economy, she said, adding that more than 90% of electrical energy comes from renewable or carbon-free sources.
Reviewing progress on increasing climate resilience and adaptation made during the three years since the initial plan was developed, Veltrip noted the Biodiversity Bill and changes to the Current Use Program have contributed to conserving priority ecosystems and mature forests. The state’s Flood Safety Act and Act 250 reform have helped in making climate-smart development decisions.
Progress in reducing climate pollution has been made as Vermonters have adopted heat pump technology and now have the most per capita installations among New England states. More than 17,000 electric vehicles have been registered, about 3% of total Vermont vehicles. Approximately 41,000 homes have been weatherized between 2000 and 2024, with a capacity to weatherize more 4,000 each year.
Together Plumb and Veltrop then explained the materials laid out on each table, foremost of which were flipbooks with action items divided into four primary climate action themes in no particular order. Rural resilience and adaptation covers capacity and planning, the built environment and public health. Agriculture and ecosystems involves reducing and sequestering, support for adaptation and climate-resilient land. The cross-cutting theme captures workforce, education and compact settlement issues. Lastly, cross–sector mitigation covers transportation, electricity, buildings and thermal issues.
Each theme has a dozen or more, often complicated recommendations. Supporting agriculture and ecological adaptation included, “Dedicate robust funding for farm and forest supply chain resilience and state food security, including significant investment in storage, processing and distribution infrastructure. Prioritize investments in farm, food, and forestry businesses, cooperatives, non-profits, tribes and community projects that have climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation goals.
With 56 separate actions, it was clear to those being asked to comment that a lot of thought had already gone into the creation of the updated plan’s priority actions.
Most attendees seemed to feel the draft actions captured the critical activities needed for the new plan. Most comments were about the nuances of individual actions.
Plumb said of the Monday gathering that he was “pleased to see the constructive engagement and thought among the participants last night.”
The State’s Climate Council and Climate Action Office have been collecting input around the state at a range of community events, from the Missisquoi Festival in Swanton to a Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission meeting that aimed to gather insights on climate action topics from linguistically diverse communities.
Spring input sessions continue April 15 in Hinesburg, April 16 in St. Albans, Bennington on April 17, Bellows Falls on April 23, Barre City on April 28 and April 30 in Rutland. A final virtual session will be offered May 1, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
A link to the draft priority actions, a place to submit written comments by May 1, along with times, details and registration links for the input sessions are at climatechange.vermont.gov/climate-action-plan-2025-update
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misattributed the comment by Liz Steel. It also misstated fossil fuel and electrical energy statistics, which have been corrected.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
