“The U.S. is long overdue for real action on climate,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “This bill will help slash emissions at a time when the impacts of the climate crisis are being felt around the country. We still have work to do at the state and local level to respond to this crisis and bring emissions down to zero by 2050.”
“This new law takes some great steps on biomass and offshore wind, but it’s sorely lacking when it comes to environmental justice,” said Staci Rubin, Vice President of Environmental Justice at CLF. “For too long, these communities have been overburdened and overlooked when it comes to air quality, access to transit, and toxic pollution. We need to put a much larger focus on protecting EJ neighborhoods and phasing out fossil fuels once and for all when the legislature reconvenes.”
Our addiction to fossil fuels paired with state policy heavily influences how hard electricity prices hit our wallets.
“It’s no coincidence that this bill is moving forward at a time when large swaths of the country are baking in yet another heatwave,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “The IRA will help us slash emissions and bolster the country’s clean energy efforts to respond to the climate crisis at our doorsteps. However, this bill still doesn’t get us to where we need to be, so state action to reduce emissions is going to be critical in the years ahead.”
“This bill includes some important steps forward in limiting biomass subsidies and supporting the offshore wind industry,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “However, there’s a lot of room for improvement when it comes to environmental justice. The state needs to take a stronger stand in protecting these communities from air pollution, creating access to an electrified commuter rail, and our leaders must do more to equitably phase out fossil fuels once and for all. We’ll continue our push to make these critical changes a reality in the next session.”
Just as CLF helped to lead the passing of landmark laws in almost every New England state, we must now watchdog their implementation. Because the consequences if these laws languish are too dire to be ignored.
The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia is a setback, to be sure. But it is also a reminder of the importance of action at the regional, state, and local levels – action that we have been leading here in New England for more than a decade as we waited – and waited – for federal climate rules to come into play.
Slashing polluting emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles is a critical part of our climate fight.
To fight climate change – and power outages – we need a strong and committed power grid operator that makes cleaning up our power generation mix its first priority. All six New England states have put ISO on notice.
“This law signals the next step in the death of fossil fuels in Rhode Island,” said CLF Senior Attorney Meg Curran. “Requiring all of our electricity to come from renewable sources is a major win for our health, our economy, and the planet. Now is the time to step up production of wind and solar resources.”
