OPINION: Fact v. Fiction and the Clean Heat Standard

April 23, 2022  |  By Jared Duval 

With the Clean Heat Standard, Vermont finally has an effective tool to help reduce dependence on fossil heating fuels. That’s important both for reducing climate pollution and reducing heating costs. Over a third of our greenhouse emissions come from fossil fuel used for heating and approximately half of Vermont’s heating fuel comes from two of the highest cost and most price volatile sources: fuel oil and propane. Fuel oil alone is up over $2 a gallon (about an 80% increase) since last year.

There is simply no way to effectively reduce climate pollution or heating costs as long as we remain so dependent on fossil heating fuels. Thankfully, proven and effective clean heat solutions are ready—from weatherization to heat pumps to efficient wood heat—that cost less and are more price stable than fossil fuels. They also do far more to keep dollars local, create jobs, and strengthen Vermont’s economy.  

Here are four key things to know about the Clean Heat Standard bill (H.175)  that is currently before the Vermont Senate:    

1)    It is designed to increase access to clean heating options and make them more affordable. 

2)    It ensures that the benefits and cost savings from clean heat options are prioritized for low- and middle-income Vermonters. 

3)    It is a performance standard that requires fossil fuel suppliers to reduce pollution and help pay for cleaner heating options for their customers. 

4)    It is the largest and most important policy recommendation regarding emissions reduction adopted by the Vermont Climate Council—and Vermont’s Climate Action Plan will not come close to adding up without it.  

Regardless of the actual details of the Clean Heat Standard, opponents of climate action and defenders of the fossil-fueled status quo keep making inaccurate and dishonest arguments. I’d like to respond to three of them:   

First is that global warming is a hoax or not a cause for concern. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change begs to differ. Its latest report states: “The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a livable future.”

Previous IPCC reports have issued warnings termed a “code red for humanity,” and established that we have less than a decade to cut emissions roughly in half to avoid catastrophic scenarios of global warming. The clear scientific consensus is not that it is time to act—it is that it is long past time to act.  

Second is the argument that, since Vermont is small, we either can’t make a difference or shouldn’t take responsibility for our climate pollution. Being small is not an excuse for inaction or not taking responsibility. No state or country can solve the climate crisis on their own. It requires all of us to do as much as we can, wherever and as soon as we can. Most of us have been part of this problem so we should all work to be part of the solution.  

Besides, Vermont has the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of any state in New England. At about 15 tons per person, Vermont also produces more climate pollution per person than China or India, which have emissions of about 7 tons per person and 2 tons per person, respectively. And, historically, Vermont has contributed much more, per person, to the problem than many of the places around the world that are seeing the worst effects of a destabilized climate.   

Refusing to do our part at a time of historic challenge is not just morally bankrupt, it also goes against our best traditions as Vermonters. When civil unions and then marriage equality was under consideration by the legislature, we didn’t say, “we shouldn’t do this because most gay and lesbian people don’t live in Vermont.” We did what was right by Vermonters, here in our state, and also provided an example that rippled far beyond our borders, encouraging other states and nations to take up the cause of equality.  

Or during the Revolution, when the “shot heard ’round the world” was fired and the first battles at Lexington and Concord broke out, Vermonters didn’t say, “there’s no way we can make a difference.” No, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys bravely took Fort Ticonderoga, securing cannon and mortar that turned the tide of the Revolution in America’s favor. Shrinking from a challenge—and opportunity—goes against our history and character.  

Third is to call anything at all related to climate action a “carbon tax”—regardless of whether it actually is. Stated as clearly as possible, the Clean Heat Standard is a requirement on fossil fuel companies and is in no way, shape, or form a tax on consumers.  

A tax is when our government collects revenue and then decides how to spend or invest it. The Clean Heat Standard does not collect any revenue. It is not even a fee—which is when revenue is collected for a specific purpose.   

The Clean Heat Standard is simply a requirement that fossil fuel companies reduce climate pollution. Any costs related to meeting that standard are the responsibility of the obligated fossil fuel importers. 

The closest parallel to this policy is Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program. Oregon found that for every 5% reduction in emissions—even when fossil fuel companies decided to push their costs onto consumers—the effect on fossil fuels prices was only about a 1% increase. At the same time, the price of cleaner options like electrification and of eligible biofuels (only those proven to reduce emissions on a full lifecycle basis) decreased significantly, making those cleaner options much more widely available and affordable relative to fossil fuels.  

Having a serious conversation about costs matters because we can't afford to be shortsighted in terms of our responsibility to protect Vermont consumers and strengthen the Vermont economy. Further delay will only leave Vermonters more exposed and vulnerable to the price spikes created by fossil fueled autocrats that abuse human rights and undermine democracy, from Russia to Saudi Arabia.   

Whether considering legal compliance with the Global Warming Solutions Act, the moral urgency of both global climate justice and democratic solidarity, or the need to reduce heating costs, it’s past time to act. At this moment of generational challenge let’s seize our best opportunity to advance an equitable transition to clean energy. Let’s pass the Clean Heat Standard.  

Montpelier resident Jared Duval is a member of the Vermont Climate Council, appointed to provide expertise in energy and data analysis. This commentary is a shortened version of his testimony to the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, which can be found in full here.