“Both the House and Senate clearly recognize that we are running out of time to confront the climate crisis,” said CLF attorney James Crowley. “We must prioritize slashing polluting emissions and protecting frontline communities from the impacts of climate change, and this bill will hold Rhode Island accountable for doing both. Now we need Governor McKee to sign this bill into law so we can get to work.”
“This legislation, passed with veto-proof majorities, is a momentous step forward in confronting the climate crisis and protecting communities that suffer first and worst from climate change,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Interim Director of CLF Massachusetts. “The Legislature honored its pledge to return the bill quickly to Governor Baker’s desk and incorporated changes to address administration concerns without weakening the bill. It’s past time for Governor Baker to sign the bill into law and get on with the important work of cutting emissions and forging the path to a safer and more sustainable future.”
“This bill is long overdue as Rhode Island continues to lag our neighbors in putting strong climate laws on the books,” said CLF attorney James Crowley. “Our current climate law is woefully out of date and offers no guidance for how to combat climate change in the Ocean State. The bill passed today will ensure that we slash polluting emissions and protect communities from climate threats. The House must now take it up and get it passed.”
Any plan to lower emissions in Massachusetts must not only consider how to cut the largest sources of carbon pollution – for the Commonwealth, that’s transportation and heating – but also how to ensure all residents have equal access to its solutions.
Biden’s flurry of executive orders addressing climate change, conservation, and environmental justice has us optimistic. Now we must ensure his administration follows through and turns these orders into meaningful and actionable policy.
Cities with aggressive climate standards are running into roadblocks. Achieving these goals will require strong building energy codes and ending the use of fossil fuels in buildings and homes. We’re starting to see that neither the natural gas utilities nor the real estate industry will sit by quietly as cities and states enforce stronger building codes and ban natural gas infrastructure in new construction.
Maine has finalized its Climate Action Plan. Now, the work to implement the goals outlined in the plan and get Maine on track to slash emissions before 2030, begins.
“The court saw right through the Trump Administration’s naked attempt to throw a lifeline to dirty outmoded coal plants,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Decimating critical emissions standards would have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans by the EPA’s own estimates. It’s fitting that an administration solely focused on destructive environmental rollbacks has been handed a resounding defeat on its last day in office.”
Massachusetts legislators overwhelmingly passed critical climate and justice legislation. But Governor Baker vetoed the bill – choosing not only to ignore sound science, but also to let decades of racist policy targeting low-income, Black, and Brown communities go unchallenged.
“On Earth Day, we cheered as Governor Baker declared net-zero emissions by 2050 an enforceable order under the state’s landmark climate law,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “With the stroke of his veto pen, the Governor has mocked this commitment he trumpeted just nine months ago. This irresponsible veto – admittedly at the behest of special interest lobbyists – deprives the Commonwealth’s families and businesses of the tools they need to cut emissions in a just and economically beneficial way. The Governor has drastically set us back in reaching our climate goals.”
