News Clips

Baker signs climate change bill into law

senmikeb
CommonWealth Magazine

Sen. Michael Barrett, who led the negotiations for the Senate and said he is concerned that the Baker administration has tried to “evade legislative intent” of the new law, said Friday that everyone in state government now must start “pulling in the same direction” now that the work turns to implementation.

“The order of the day beginning tomorrow is ensuring interpretations of the law that are true to legislative intent and then overseeing implementation in a way that is true to legislative intent,” he said. “One reason I’ve been so concerned about the administration’s insistence on idiosyncratic readings of the new statute is because today’s abstract discussion segues over in tomorrow’s implementation. If the administration pushes back against the plain language of the law today, how are they going to implement it tomorrow?”

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After a veto, Baker signs landmark climate bill

senmikeb
The Boston Globe

After vetoing the initial bill and sending a second one back to lawmakers with a host of proposed amendments, Governor Charlie Baker on Friday signed a revised climate bill, establishing one of the nation’s most far-reaching efforts to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions.

The new law requires Massachusetts to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, 75 percent below those levels by 2040, and achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050. Given that it’s unlikely the state will eliminate all of its emissions, officials will have to plant trees or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to offset any lingering use of fossil fuels or other sources of greenhouse gases.

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What You Need To Know About The New Mass. Climate Law

senmikeb
WBUR

The new law, “An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” represents the most significant update to climate policy in the Commonwealth since the landmark 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act. And with hundreds of statutory updates and changes, it tackles a lot — everything from solar panels and offshore wind to new building codes and regulatory priorities for state agencies.

Climate and energy policy can be confusing and full of jargon, but here — in simple English — is what you need to know about what’s in the new law:

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Landmark Legislation Signed in the Fight against Climate Change

senmikeb
The Bedford Citizen

A landmark climate bill has been signed into law, placing Massachusetts among the world leaders in the fight against global warming.  The new law, representing the contributions of many legislators but assembled, edited, and defended principally by Bedford’s state senator Mike Barrett, overhauls the state’s climate statute, advances the clean energy industry, protects low- and middle-income families, and provides tools to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

“This bill is about getting down to brass tacks.  It’s about getting the job done, one step at a time, starting now,” said Barrett, the Senate’s leader on climate and energy.  “The pace of climate change is picking up — so the pace of climate policy must pick up. The Next Generation Climate Roadmap law reflects the concerns of people of every age, from every part of the state. The grassroots climate movement of Massachusetts is a force to be reckoned with.”

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Lexington Sen. Barrett’s climate bill signed at last

senmikeb
Lexington Minuteman

Sen. Michael Barrett, who led the negotiations for the Senate and said he is concerned that the Baker administration has tried to “evade legislative intent” of the new law, said Friday that everyone in state government now must start “pulling in the same direction” now that the work turns to implementation.

“The order of the day beginning tomorrow is ensuring interpretations of the law that are true to legislative intent and then overseeing implementation in a way that is true to legislative intent,” he said. “One reason I’ve been so concerned about the administration’s insistence on idiosyncratic readings of the new statute is that today’s abstract discussion segues over in tomorrow’s implementation. If the administration pushes back against the plain language of the law today, how are they going to implement it tomorrow?”

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Massachusetts Legislature votes to advance climate change bill, again

senmikeb
WBUR

After more than six months of negotiations, the legislature sent a slightly different version of this bill to Gov. Baker in early January. Baker vetoed the bill a few days later, citing concerns about new municipal stretch codes and interim emissions reduction goals. The legislature then sent the bill back in the exact same form later that month, and this time, Baker returned it with amendments.

The final bill that Baker intends to sign maintains most of the original provisions but does include some of his proposed amendments — more flexibility around the sector-specific emission targets, for example. In this final version, if the state meets its overall emissions goals, it won’t be subject to legal liability for falling short in one or two sectors.

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Senate passes climate change bill 39-1

senmikeb
CommonWealth Magazine

“This is a moment that does the Legislature – Senate and House – proud,” said Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, the Senate’s point person on climate change.

During debate on the bill, Barrett sought to demonstrate how Massachusetts faces unique challenges in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He said agriculture and land use account for 24 percent of all emissions worldwide but only 0.3 percent in Massachusetts. He said industry accounts for 22 percent of emissions in the United States, but only 5 percent in Massachusetts.

Where Massachusetts is different, Barrett said, is on transportation and building energy use. In Massachusetts, transportation accounts for 42 percent of emissions, compared to 29 percent in the United States and building energy use accounts for 27 percent of emissions in Massachusetts but only 12 percent across the United States.

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The NextGen Roadmap Bill is Ambitious but Balanced

senmikeb
Mike Barrett
The NextGen Roadmap Bill is Ambitious but Balanced

The most recent numbers tell us Massachusetts is backsliding in terms of reducing emissions. This bill is our chance to get back on track and stay there. Tip of the hat to Senate President Senate President Karen E. Spilka and State Representative Ron Mariano for putting us back to work on climate immediately. Because of them, the legislation’s odds of ultimate success are excellent.

Massachusetts lawmakers send climate bill that would reduce state’s carbon footprint to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk

senmikeb
Mass Live

Emissions would have to fall to at least 50% of 1990 levels by 2030 and 75% of 1990 levels by 2040, but the bill also calls for interim goals every five years.

“An underlying idea driving the particulars of this bill is that the need to do something needs to be front and center, more than has been in the last 10 years,” Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat and key negotiator on the bill, said in a phone interview. “We tried to write a bill that would present people in Massachusetts with a need to change. I believe that a successful adjustment to climate change will involve transformations big and small.”

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Historic climate, renewable plan heads to Mass. governor

senmikeb
Energywire

A slate of controversial clean energy policies is set to advance in Massachusetts this year after state lawmakers passed sweeping climate legislation last night and the governor’s office released new plans.

On Sunday evening, a bipartisan legislative committee announced a compromise on a long-debated climate package that would codify the state’s goal of zeroing out CO2 emissions by 2050, with new interim targets every five years. By 2030, emissions would have to fall by 50% over 1990 levels, followed by a 75% decrease by 2040. The legislation passed the Massachusetts Legislature last night by large margins in both chambers.

State Sen. Michael Barrett, a Democrat who co-chaired the bipartisan team of negotiators for the bill, said the cities of Boston and Cambridge had voiced interest in adopting codes that require net-zero emissions for new buildings.

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