Massachusetts State Senator
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.
Get the details on the bill, which has passed the Senate and House and is now on the governor’s desk:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/…/state-lawmakers…/…
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.”
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.
In a statement, the bill’s chief negotiators, Representative Thomas Golden of Lowell and Senator Michael Barrett of Lexington, called the bill “the strongest effort of its kind in the country.”
“This is focused, serious, and specific,” Barrett said. “It won’t allow us to look away when we fall short. It keeps the work of reducing carbon emissions squarely in front of us. This is no-excuses law-making.”
The bill’s chief negotiators — Representative Thomas Golden of Lowell and Senator Michael Barrett of Lexington — called the proposal “the strongest effort of its kind in the country” and the first major update to the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act.
“This bill is a climate toolkit, assembled over the course of months, to protect our residents, and the beautiful place we call home, from the worsening of an existential crisis,” they said. “Its particulars owe much to the advocacy of thousands of citizen activists in Massachusetts. To these activists, we say thank you. We heard you.”
Massachusetts lawmakers have sent to the governor’s desk a bill that aims to chart the state’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050.
“This bill is a climate toolkit, assembled over the course of months, to protect our residents, and the beautiful place we call home, from the worsening of an existential crisis,” the co-chairs of the Conference Committee on Climate of the Massachusetts General Court Sen. Mike Barrett and Rep. Thomas Golden said in a joint statement. The toolkit approach “focuses relentlessly on the work of reducing greenhouse gases, creating jobs, and protecting the vulnerable.”
Passed by the House with a vote of 145-9 on January 4, the bill (S.2995) would codify the state’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050 and set interim targets of cutting emissions 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2040 from 1990 levels.
Massachusetts lawmakers approved legislation Monday to overhaul the state’s climate laws, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create renewable energy jobs and protect poorer communities that can be at higher risk from pollution.
A highlight of the bill is the goal of attaining a net-zero greenhouse gas emission limit by 2050 in part by setting new statewide limits every five years to help the state reach the goal.
Reducing emissions to net zero is the contribution Massachusetts must make to the nation’s, and the world’s, larger climate effort. No question, doing our part is a big lift. With the tools the Legislature brings together here, we can construct the response we need and provide a blueprint to other states.
The toolkit approach is not a vision statement. It is not abstract or general. It is detailed. It is concerned with the practical. It focuses relentlessly on the work of reducing greenhouse gases, creating jobs, and protecting the vulnerable. It’s about the “how'” of it, as in “Here’s how we get this done, one step at a time, starting now.”
The Next-Gen Roadmap directs the Department of Public Utilities, regulator of our natural gas and electric power companies, to give equal weight to greenhouse gas reductions and system safety alongside the traditional — and imperative — attention to affordability and stability of supply.
