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IPCC by 2030

About the Bill
Bill Highlights
Contact Your Legislators
Talking Points & Sample Tweets
Write a Letter to the Editor
Read More
About the Bill
Highlights
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Contact Your Legislators
Social Media
Write a Letter
Read More
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About the Bill

Full title: An Act investing in a prosperous, clean commonwealth by 2030 (S.2170 / H.3372)

Lead Sponsors: Sen. Jamie Eldridge; Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven

Committee: Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy

Status: Sent to study on 2/24/2022 and ended for the Legislative Session

The Issue

According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we must halve emissions globally in under a decade — implying that wealthy, technologically advanced regions must decarbonize more rapidly. Even then, the impacts of climate change will become substantially worse than those we face today, and greatest for frontline communities. While Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support aggressive action, and the recent climate bill has shown our government’s commitment to change, those commitments will not work fast enough. Our policies have so far failed to do the bare minimum to stave off catastrophe for future generations, and now we must do even more to combat the climate crisis.

 

The Solution

The IPCC-2030 bill would establish a new standard for leadership on climate policy in Massachusetts in line with what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says needs to happen this decade. The bill requires net-zero emissions and 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and negative emissions in coming decades. To do this, it strategically reforms the sectors which most contribute to emissions, while protecting the most vulnerable in our society and ensuring a just transition for workers.

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Highlights

  • Sets net emissions targets to zero for 2030 and negative after that
  • Accounts for emissions due to deforestation and provides safeguards around net emissions accounting
  • Transitions the electricity system to 100% renewable generation by 2030
  • Mandates the procurement of new offshore wind and solar capacity, while increasing the accessibility of solar to low-income and environmental justice communities
  • Requires electric vehicle charging infrastructure for new residential and commercial construction and transitions new vehicle sales to EVs
  • Sets strong goals for the electrification of the MBTA, RTAs, and fleets used for a public purpose
  • Establishes a mandatory net zero building code for new construction while harmonizing building efficiency standards across the commonwealth, and retrofits all publicly assisted housing by 2030
  • Protects workers from fossil fuel industries, allowing them to choose to retrain or to collect a pension early while guaranteeing that jobs created as a result of the energy transition are union jobs with wage and benefit parity
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Contact Your Legislators

Find your legislators’ contact information here.


I was pleased to see the Legislature overwhelmingly pass the Next Generation Roadmap bill earlier this year [in 2022: last year]. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds that we must halve emissions globally in under a decade, and that means wealthy countries need to do more. While a good start, the climate bill does not go far enough.

I urge you to support Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven’s bills S.2170 and H.3372 (An Act investing in a prosperous, clean commonwealth by 2030), which would set a goal of net-zero emissions and 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and ensure a just transition to a fossil-fuel-free economy. 

Massachusetts imagines itself to be both a moral and technological leader; this bill simply translates that reputation into actionable policy. It does this by both setting overall targets, and by strategically reforming the sectors which most contribute to emissions, with safeguards to protect the most vulnerable in our society, and to ensure a just transition for workers in industries that must shift towards sustainable methods.

Our policies in the past 50 years have not done enough to stave off climate catastrophe, and now we must be even bolder in our policy to ensure a just and resilient future for ourselves and future generations.

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Talking Points & Sample Tweets

  • Support @SunriseBoston’s bill with @erika4rep and @JamieEldridgeMA to set bold emission goals such as Net-Zero and 100% renewable electricity by 2030, ensure a just transition, and put frontline communities first. #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • Young people are leading the way in fighting climate change. Support @SunriseBoston’s IPCC by 2030, which demands a faster transition to 100% renewables and directly supports workers in industries who will be most affected.  #ActonClimate #mapoli
  • 2050 isn’t fast enough. We need to achieve #NetZero by 2030 if we want an equitable and sustainable future. #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • The recent climate bill doesn’t move fast enough — we must pass @SunriseBoston’s bill with @erika4rep and @JamieEldridgeMA to set bold emission goals such as Net-Zero and 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030! #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • Our actions this decade will determine whether we will have a livable planet. @erka4rep and @JamieEldridgeMA’s IPCC by 2030 bill commits us to the just transition we need to make that possible. #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • 100% renewable electricity is both necessary and possible, but we have to act fast. The IPCC by 2030 bill commits us to the rigorous goals to get there. #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • We need a #JustTransition to a 100% renewables future. The IPCC by 2030 bill will help us get there. #mapoli #ActonClimate
  • We have the opportunity to build a more just and equitable economy in the fight for 100% renewable energy. The IPCC by 2030 bill charts the way. #mapoli #ActonClimate
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Write a Letter to the Editor

Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!

The signing of the Next Generation Roadmap bill showed that our state government understands the importance of solving the climate crisis. However, it doesn’t go far enough. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds that we must halve emissions globally in under a decade, and that means wealthy countries need to do more. While a good start, the climate bill does not go far enough.

To supplement and add to Massachusetts’ commitment to reversing the effects of climate change, we must support the bold new bill worked on by youth organizers at Sunrise Boston in partnership with Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, which establishes goals of net-zero carbon emissions and 100% renewable electricity by 2030. This bill centers those working in the industries most affected by electrification and climate policy, making it a people-first, long-term solution to climate change.

This  bill represents the future of climate policy. Focusing on creating jobs, increasing equity and access, transitioning to 100% renewable energy, and creating infrastructure needed for long-term change, this bill represents the future of climate policy that we can all get excited about.

We have spent 50 years debating the climate crisis while making minimal progress. We must make 2020 the decade of real, sustainable, equitable, and transformational change. This bill will open us up to a chapter we desperately need, and can celebrate for generations to come.

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Read More

Earlier today, the UN Secretary-General described the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as “code red for humanity.”

As alarming as the report is, it’s not new. We have known for decades now that we need to act — and fast — in order to guarantee a planet where we can all thrive.

Although the Next Generation Roadmap bill passed by the MA Legislature earlier this year was an important step, it does not go far enough or fast enough.

Can you write to your legislators today in support of bold action on climate change?

Two new bills would help us meet the moment.

The IPCC-2030 bill (S.2170 / H.3372), filed by Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, would establish a new standard for leadership on climate policy in Massachusetts in line with what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says needs to happen this decade. The bill requires net-zero emissions and 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and negative emissions in coming decades. To do this, it strategically reforms the sectors which most contribute to emissions, while protecting the most vulnerable in our society and ensuring a just transition for workers.

The Building Justice with Jobs bill (S.2226 / H.3365), filed by Sen. Marc Pacheco and Reps. David LeBoeuf and Maria Robinson, would help us address the climate crisis and the inequality crisis at the same time by adopting housing regulations mandating minimum energy efficiency, energy performance, or related energy standards and putting thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 100,000 homes each year to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions.

Can you write to your legislators today in support of bold action on climate change?

Update on the COVID-19 Housing Equity Bill

A hearing on the COVID-19 Housing Equity bill has been scheduled for Thursday, August 12 at 1:00 pm. This will be a virtual hearing, in front of the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing.