Green Decade President, Marcia Cooper, attended a Climate Change Resiliency Forum for Policy makers at the MA State house last week. The following report is provided courtesy of The Environmental League of Massachusetts:
Energy & Environment Secretary Beaton States Baker Administration Support for Emission Reduction Targets at Climate Forum
On March 25, legislators, State House staff, advocates, and academics packed into a hearing room for a Climate Change Resiliency Forum for Policymakers. This oversight hearing was hosted by the Senate and House Standing Committees on Global Warming and Climate Change.
Experts from the University of Massachusetts presented their work on climate. The focus of the forum was on what we need to do to adapt to climate change and be prepared for major weather events. Participants also discussed the need to more aggressively cut greenhouse gas emissions which are causing climate change.
Highlights:
- Senate President Rosenberg (D-Amherst) stated, “I’m a believer.”
- Secretary Beaton, Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, stated the Baker-Polito administration is committed to increasing the state’s preparedness and achieving emission reduction targets set in the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA): 25% reduction by 2020; 80% reduction by 2050.
- Beaton noted that land conservation and wetland preservation are high priorities. The administration is distributing green infrastructure grants to help municipalities use nature as an ally in addressing issues like erosion and flooding.
- Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Senate President Pro Tempore and Global Warming Committee Chairman, noted we must prepare for the worst case scenario of climate impacts and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He encouraged support for legislation he filed which would ensure vulnerability assessments are conducted and require state agencies to incorporate climate impact projections into planning and practices.
- Sen. Barrett (D-Lexington) noted that putting a price on carbon is an important step we can take to curb our emissions.
- Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, noted the importance of regional planning and technical assistance in increasing resilience to climate change.
We applaud the Baker administration’s commitment to getting the state on track to meet GWSA targets. As our Global Warming Solutions Project (GWSP) reported last year, the state is falling short of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. As the convener of GWSP, ELM is focused on working with legislators, executive agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure that Massachusetts meets these targets.Read the Global Warming Solutions Project Scorecard
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