In 2022, Vermont’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions declined, driven by reductions across several sectors, including transportation, residential/commercial/industrial (RCI), waste, and industrial processes. This downward trend occurred despite a slight population increase of 0.14% from 2021 to 2022. While annual fluctuations are expected due to the many factors that influence emissions, the overall decline in 2022 is an encouraging development.

With the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and the adoption of the Initial Climate Action Plan (CAP)—most recently updated in July 2025 by the Vermont Climate Council—a range of GHG mitigation strategies have been introduced to help reduce emissions and advance Vermont toward meeting its GWSA targets

The Global Warming Solutions Act established mandatory statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels as opposed to aspirational targets for 2025, 2030, and 2050.  The 2025 requirement is based on the Paris goals and is 26% below 2005 levels.  The 2030 and 2050 goals are 40% and 80% below the 1990 baseline respectively.  Because of the specific dates in the statute (January 1, 2025, January 1, 2030, and January 1, 2050) the actual annual emissions totals that determine whether Vermont has achieved the necessary reductions will be for calendar years 2024, 2029, and 2049.

This indicator is calculated by dividing Vermont’s total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent, or MMTCO₂e) by the state’s population for the same year. The result is then multiplied by 1,000,000 to express the value in metric tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) per person.

Population estimates come from the U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024.

GHG emissions data are sourced from the most recent Vermont Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Forecast (1990–2022), published by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Note: There is a lag of several years in the availability of emissions data. The primary reason for this delay is the time it takes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to compile and release the national datasets that states rely on to produce their inventories.