There is still time to stop irreversible climate change if we act now. But we have to act fast or else the consequences will be dire and inescapable. That, in a nutshell, is what more than 90 of the top climate scientists from 40 countries around the world announced recently in a special report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC).
Boston has no time left to waste in addressing the threat of climate change. Last winter, we experienced massive flooding in the Seaport not once but twice, and we know that more dangerous storms and rising tides are in our future. That’s why Conservation Law Foundation is applauding a plan by Mayor Marty Walsh to… Continue reading Planning, Investment, and Action Must Go Hand in Hand to Protect Boston
“Planning for open space and climate resilience is important, but planning without concrete action isn’t enough,” said Deanna Moran, Director of Environmental Planning at CLF.
“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was absolutely correct to require these additional guarantees from NorthStar,” said Sandra Levine, Senior Attorney at CLF. “This is a major clean-up of a contaminated nuclear site that poses pollution risks for generations to come. It is not a project that should be done on the cheap, and it should not leave Vermonters on the hook to pay for cleanup efforts. The NRC clearly recognized the weakness of the proposal that Entergy presented to Vermont regulators.”
“What the tragedy in the Merrimack Valley makes clear is that we need to be weaning ourselves off natural gas now,” said Bradley Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. “This is a system with too many risks and vulnerabilities.’’
“The power industry tried every trick in the book to avoid the inevitable, and the state’s highest court rejected each one,” said David Ismay, Senior Attorney at CLF. “The goal of our appeals was to ensure these fossil fuel power generators would reduce their emissions year after year for the sake of our communities and the climate. And the recent Supreme Judicial Court ruling has done just that. We still have a long way to go in the fight to halt climate change and build a thriving clean energy economy, but for the time being, our work with these plants is done.”
CLF dismissed three appeals challenging the permits for two new gas-fired power plants after Massachusetts’ highest court reaffirmed that lowering climate-damaging emissions is the law of the land in the Commonwealth.
Without a permit and with no shovels in the ground, the ISO has determined it is impossible for Invenergy to start generating energy by its required deadline. So ISO walked away from Invenergy. This is further proof that the plant is not needed and should not be built.
“Today’s decision is yet another nail in the coffin for this unnecessary fracked gas and fossil fuel plant,” said Jerry Elmer, Senior Attorney at CLF. “Rhode Island simply does not need the power that this plant would generate or the dangerous greenhouse gas emissions that would come along with it. As we’ve been saying for months, it’s time for Invenergy to admit defeat and let Rhode Island focus instead on clean renewable energy like solar and wind power.”
As we head into election season this November, it’s on us to hold New England’s elected representatives to a higher standard on their commitment to the environment.
