By WXTK News
A major bill designed to address climate change is at Governor Charlie Baker s desk.
The state legislature passed the bill known as the Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy on Monday.
It sets a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions limit by 2050 and more than doubles the state goal for offshore wind production by 2035, among other things.
Edward M. Kennedy Institute For The US Senate Dedication With President Obama
Photo: Getty Images North America
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Natural Gas Power Reliance Factors Heavily in Massachusetts Net-Zero Actions
Lawmakers in Massachusetts have passed a bill that eyes net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions statewide by 2050, setting interim GHG reduction targets to achieve reductions of least 85% below 1990 levels within the next 30 years.
” sending it to Gov. Charlie Baker, who plans to act on it by Jan. 14. Baker, who in April 2020 committed the state to net-zero emissions by 2050, last week also released two reports that detail policies and strategies to maximize the state’s ability to meet the ambitious target.
Special to the Transcript
Rep. RoseLee Vincent and Senator Joseph Boncore joined with their colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature this week in passing breakthrough climate legislation that overhauls the state’s climate laws, drives down greenhouse gas emissions, creates clean energy jobs, and protects environmental justice communities.
The bill, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (S.2995), sets a 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions limit, as well as statewide limits every five years; increases the requirements for offshore wind energy procurement bringing the statewide total to 5,600 megawatts; requires emission reduction goals for MassSave, the state’s energy efficiency program; and, for the first time, establishes the criteria in statute that define environmental justice populations. The legislation also increases support for clean energy workforce development programs including those targeting low-income communities and improv
O’Connor aids greenhouse emissions cap
Wicked Local
BOSTON – State Sen. Patrick O Connor, R-Weymouth, and his legislative colleagues approved a climate change measure on Jan. 4, which would limit greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero in 2050. This is a historic day for Massachusetts, O Connor said while addressing the State Senate. We have long been one of the clean energy leaders in our country, but today, we strengthen the foundation that we have built upon and chart a course that has been long discussed but never codified or fully implemented. In short, today, we get real.
The legislation approved by the House and Senate has been sent to Gov. Charlie Baker for approval.
BOSTON – Gov. Charlie Baker now has a climate change bill on his desk that represents the state s first major legislative effort in a dozen years to address one of the most pressing issues of our time.
On Monday night, both the Senate and the House passed a bill known as the Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy by wide margins, with only two senators objecting and just nine of 154 representatives voting against the bill, which updates the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008.
“Yesterday, the Legislature met the moment and passed generational legislation that gets Massachusetts to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said Tuesday. “In the process, we advance justice for the communities who spent decades bearing the brunt of our collective environmental neglect.”