Vermont Becomes First State to Require Oil Companies Pay for Climate Damages

Vermont on Thursday passed a law that would require major fossil fuel companies to pay for damage caused by climate change, becoming the first state in the nation to do so. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said that he allowed the Climate Superfund Act to become law without his signature, although he expressed “deep concern” about the law’s short- and long-term outcomes. “Taking on ‘Big Oil’ should not be taken lightly,” the governor said in a letter to the state’s General Assembly. “And with just $600,000 appropriated by the Legislature to complete an analysis that will need to withstand intense legal scrutiny from a well-funded defense, we are not positioning ourselves for success,” he added....