July 27, 2024
To the Conferees: Chair Barrett, Chair Roy, Majority Leader Creem, Vice Chair Haggerty, and Ranking Members and Minority Leaders Tarr and Jones,
My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic.
Thank you for your work in negotiating a final version of climate legislation, reconciling S.2838 and H.4884.
This past Monday was the hottest day on record, according to a European climate service. The urgency around robust and equitable climate action could not be clearer.
Massachusetts has in recent years made important commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the recommendations of the International Panel on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. Setting targets is critical, but meeting them requires real work, consisting of the decarbonization of all sectors of our economy. And we must do this work in a way that does not reproduce the inequities endemic to the fossil fuel economy from which we must transition away.
We urge you to include the following provisions of the Senate or House bills in the final legislation you produce:
- Putting Gas Companies on a Path to Provide Clean, Non-Emitting Renewable Energy (Sections 46, 74, and 76 of the Senate Bill; Section 24 of the House bill): Among other measures, these sections would allow gas companies to sell networked geothermal energy, limit the expansion of new gas mains unless there are no feasible alternatives to gas, require that the public interest in greenhouse gas reductions be considered when evaluating proposed expansions to gas mains, permit gas companies to meet their “obligation to serve” by providing customers with renewable substitutes, encourage gas companies to repair or retire leak-prone pipelines, and require gas companies to implement an orderly transition to non-emitting energy for heating buildings.
In short, as the Department of Utilities made clear back in December, there cannot be a future for gas in Massachusetts. The DPU can only do so much on its own, and we need legislative action.
- Electrifying the Commuter Rail System (Section 138 of the Senate Bill): This is a critical component of an MBTA-wide plan for decarbonization.
- Easing Access to Solar in Historic Districts (Section 106 of the Senate Bill): We need to remove roadblocks to residential solar if we are to achieve the scale necessary.
- Updating Our Bottle Bill (Sections 45-58 of the Senate Bill)
- Updating the Massport Charter to include attention to climate change and environmental justice (Sections 108 & 109 of the Senate bill sections; Sections 65A&B of the House bill)
- Removing Woody Biomass from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard for Municipal Lighting Plants (Section 115 of the Senate Bill)
- Establishing Labor Standards and Reporting for Clean Energy Procurement (as reflected in the adopted amendments #120 in the Senate and #100 in the House)
Similarly, we echo the demands of the Mass Power Forward coalition to include the following in a final bill:
- Siting and Permit Approvals tied to a robust cumulative impact analysis. Such an analysis must be holistic, incorporating past and current exposures to pollution and other chemical sources, as well as other factors found in the built, natural, and social environments, and their impact on quality of life and public health.
- Clean air for environmental justice populations and all. (as found in Senate Bill Amendment 100; House Bill amendment 15). Environmental Justice (EJ) populations are disproportionately affected by air pollution. By including air quality policy in the climate bill, we will improve indoor and outdoor air, especially for EJ populations and residents burdened by pollution from congested roadways and ports, and mold in housing.
- Ending large-scale gas pipeline expansion (as found in Senate Bill Amendment 16; House bill Amendment 17): Every new mile of high-pressure pipeline installed is an expensive asset that will have to be paid off over decades by ratepayers or, if stranded, by taxpayers, and such expansion irreconcilable with meeting our climate goals.
Thank you again for your work on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts
