Take Action on Massachusetts’ 2050 Climate Plan
Once again, Massachusetts is working on a clean energy and climate plan – this time for 2050 – and your input is needed by October 21.
Energy policy & advocacy (7)
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Why We Need Building Performance Standards in Massachusetts & Rhode Island
Background
Recently, we posted a blog on one policy, the Clean Heat Standard, to decarbonize the building sector. Consider it one tool in the tool chest and understand that it’s usually not possible to make anything with just one tool. With this blog, we will explore a complimentary policy – Building Performance Standards (BPS).
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Why We Need a (Good) Clean Heat Standard – a message for Massachusetts & Rhode Island
Energy standards have changed our electricity and auto industries for the better. Now it’s time to bring the same idea to how we heat our buildings.
What the Inflation Reduction Act Means for Massachusetts & Rhode Island
On August 16, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest investment in fighting climate change on the national level this country has ever seen. The IRA is a huge deal and fundamentally changes the game for our work here at the state level. On August 31, we held a webinar to discuss the IRA and its impact on three levels: on individual consumers who want to go green, on towns and cities, and on the state. Here is the webinar recording, as well as a summary and clips of each individual section. Enjoy!
What Candidates for RI Governor Think about Phasing Out Gasoline
Last week, the Environment Council of Rhode Island (ECRI) hosted a forum for candidates running RI Governor to discuss their plans for the environment if elected. The forum covered several of Rhode Island’s most pressing environmental issues, including environmental justice and implementation of the Act On Climate. But one question stood out.
Moderator Ed Fitzpatrick of the Boston Globe asked: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, should Rhode Island set an end date for the last sales of new gasoline-powered automobiles like some other states?
We Like the Massachusetts Climate Bill. The Governor Must Sign It.
On Thursday, the Massachusetts House and Senate both passed a major new climate bill, An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. The legislation now goes to Governor Baker for signature. The bill is basically what we expected: a combination of the House’s emphasis on offshore wind, the Senate’s emphasis on electric transportation, and some new policies in other areas. Overall, we are very pleased with the 96-page bill. Here are our views on some of the key provisions – and what you can do to get this over the finish line.
A murky future for RI's electric vehicle programs
Rhode Island is in good shape to reduce emissions from the power sector after a successful 2022 legislation session. But it’s slow-going on policy to support vehicle electrification, which is an absolute necessity to displace gasoline use and meet 2030 climate goals.
The Electric Sector in the Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan
This blog covers strategies outlined in Massachusetts’ final Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the electric power sector. For more background on the CECP for 2025 and 2030, read this blog.
Thanks to policies like the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the Clean Energy Standard (CES), the Commonwealth has made significant progress in cleaning up the electricity supply in Massachusetts. For the rest of this decade, we will need to build on and accelerate that progress to meet the GHG reductions required by the Climate Roadmap bill that passed in 2021. In this blog post, we’ll go over what the Clean Energy & Climate Plan (CECP) has in store for the electricity sector and Green Energy Consumers' thoughts on that plan!