By Michael Bielawski
Vermont’s energy policy may be largely dictated by ideas originating with the United Nations. A search of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy reveals that “United Nations” shows up in 11 documents or bills discussed in testimony within the committee.
The Climate Action Plan
For example, an approving reference to the U.N. appears in the “Initial Vermont Climate Action Plan” that the Senate committee look at in February of 2023.
In its text, it says that our carbon emissions must be controlled according to U.N. policy. It says, “Finally, update the state’s inventory to reflect guidance set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations to account for net [carbon] emissions.”
Current efforts to curb carbon emissions via the “Clean Heat Standard” (S.5/Act 18) are stalling as policymakers have failed to produce a “check-back” report essentially telling Vermonters what economic impact they can expect from taxing conventional heating fuels.
Likewise in a search of the solons’ House counterpart, the House Environment and Energy Committee, “United Nations” shows up 18 times.
“Housing is a human right”
In a hearing on S. 100, a housing bill, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns in March 2023 reviewed their policy positions in a document referencing the U.N. It states, “They understand, as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights established, that housing is a human right.”
The report continues that “The Vermont Housing Finance Agency has identified a need for 40,000 additional housing units. The question is, where will those homes be built?”
Vermont’s Climate Responsibility
A document titled “Assessing Vermont’s Climate Responsibility” authored by Energy Action Network (EAN) spokesperson Jared Duval was presented by him to the committee in January of this year. In it, he advocates for adherence to U.N. policy.
It states, “The significance of the 2025 obligation is that it mirrors the commitment the United States made in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. Vermont’s 2025 target merely says that Vermont will do its part – taking responsibility for reducing the emissions created within our state borders – in meeting our national commitment.”
In its summary, it states, “In this paper, we also draw on concepts from moral philosophy and economics to understand climate responsibility as a collective action problem and a public goods dilemma.”
Money “from all sources” for climate?
In “The final text of the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” presented by Tara Mobergthe in April of 2023 the U.N. is mentioned. Among numerous objectives include to have “financial resources from all sources” be put towards climate mitigation.
Target 19 (out of 23 total) suggests to “Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, by 2030 mobilizing at least 200 billion United States dollars per year.”
U.N. policy for land use
In the “TNC Testimony” (The Nature Conservancy) by Lauren Oates in April of last year, she testified on H. 126 which is titled “Biodiversity Protection & Community Resilience.” It notes that many other governments have signed onto U.N. land management policies.
It states, “188 governments (including the US) adopted a 30×30 Global Biodiversity Framework United Nation’s COP15 Summit, which elevates both terrestrial and aquatic targets.”
It continues, “President Biden’s America The Beautiful Initiative (30×30) aims to conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030. Creating similar goals and targets for Vermont is key to elevating our efforts alongside the national initiative.”
“Community resilience and biodiversity protection”
The rest of the mentions of “United Nations” come from hearings on H.126 (or Act 59) which is “An act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection.” It is sponsored by Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury, and others.
In the bill’s text it reads, “According to the United Nations: (A) one million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction; (B) human activity has altered almost 75 percent of the Earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into ever-smaller natural areas of the planet; (C) the health of ecosystems on which humans and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever, affecting the very foundations of economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life worldwide.”
The bill continues with more ways that human impacts on the world are generally considered negative.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
Contribute to Vermont Daily Chronicle via Stripe.com – quick, easy, confidential