This commentary is by Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Vermont Senate majority leader and the mother of a 5-month-old and 22-month-old, and by Sen. Anne Watson, chair of the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee and the mother of a 3-year-old.
This year, there’s a shift in who is at the table tackling climate change. As Senate majority leader and chair of the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee, we are helping to lead the environmental policy conversation, and we are both mothers of young children. As parents, our instinct is to protect our children. We bundle them up when we leave the house, we hold them close when they’re scared, we hate to see them in pain.
But how do we shield them from a world where floods wipe out neighborhoods, wildfires poison the air and extreme heat makes it dangerous to play outside?
It is hard not to feel despair as climate change accelerates. Every day, we see more destruction — homes lost, lives upended, communities struggling to rebuild. Even with years of preparation — investing in clean energy, strengthening flood protections and pushing for climate action — the scale of devastation is overwhelming.
We know this exhaustion. The heartbreak of seeing and experiencing disaster after disaster, the frustration of watching political leaders refuse to act, the fear of what our children will inherit. The United Nations has called this an “atlas of human suffering.” And when leaders like Donald Trump pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, dismantle FEMA and politicize disaster aid, that suffering grows worse.
But as moms and Vermonters, we refuse to give up when our children’s future is on the line.
Despite federal inaction, Vermont has made real progress investing in weatherization and clean water, expanding incentives for electric vehicles, reducing disaster risk with the Flood Safety Act, creating the Climate Superfund to hold fossil fuel companies accountable and enacting the Global Warming Solutions Act to cut climate pollution and create jobs.
We also know climate change does not impact everyone equally. Low-income families bear the heaviest burden, often living in vulnerable areas. After Tropical Storm Irene, manufactured homes — which make up about 7% of Vermont’s housing units — made up approximately 15% of the units destroyed. This past summer, entire low-income neighborhoods were destroyed, leaving families with nowhere to go.
This is why protecting Vermonters remains our top priority. Our climate policies are not just about cutting emissions; they are a commitment to keeping people safe, lowering costs, and strengthening communities as we move away from the volatility of fossil fuel prices and the risks of climate chaos.
The legacy we leave for our children must include warm, energy-efficient homes; families moved out of floodplains; a strong climate workforce; transit-oriented housing; resilient communities and businesses; affordable, stable energy prices; and less climate pollution negatively impacting public health.
The cost of doing nothing is too great. Climate change is not a distant threat — it is harming us now. From air pollution to floods to heat distress, extreme weather is costing us billions and endangering lives.
Now more than ever, with moms now at the decision-making table, the current reality of our families and the future of the next generation are at the center of our climate policies. That’s why we are focused on real, people-first solutions:
- Expanding clean energy jobs that pay Vermonters livable wages.
- Strengthening flood protections to keep families safe.
- Ensuring energy affordability and predictability so no one has to choose between heating and groceries.
- Investing in community resilience instead of fossil fuel infrastructure.
- Supporting local, self-sufficient energy solutions.
Vermont has led the way in energy efficiency, saving families billions while stabilizing rates. We pioneered this model, proving that climate action and affordability go hand in hand.
We need the governor’s partnership. We need every Vermonter engaged. This is truly an emergency, and we must act like it.
- We need more tradespeople—without them, there is no transition.
- We must ensure families have warm homes, access to food, and protection from floods.
- We must support workers and businesses as they face climate disasters and rebuild stronger.
- We must measure success by how many lives are improved and how many costs are lowered for families, in addition to reducing climate pollution.
The road ahead will be hard. But as mothers, we know one thing: despair is not an option. We fight for our children. We fight for their future. Vermont has always acted with courage, and we will continue to push for bold solutions.
This effort isn’t about politics. It’s about the survival of our families, our communities and the planet that sustains us.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Sens. Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Anne Watson: This Is your mother’s climate fight.