“The PUC has dealt a devastating blow to New Hampshire families, businesses and our planet,” said CLF Attorney Nick Krakoff. “Energy efficiency programs help us reduce our energy use, which means lower bills and less damaging climate pollution from fossil fuels. The absurd and arbitrary decision to do away with these popular programs must be overturned.”
As we reflect on what went wrong at last month’s global climate conference, we can find hope in everything we’ve accomplished in New England. Our fight isn’t over yet.
Vermont just released a roadmap to reach the targets of our Global Warming Solutions Act. Let’s dive into some of what it got right and what needs more work.
“The climate crisis is putting Vermont’s communities at risk as we speak,” said Elena Mihaly, Vice President of CLF Vermont. “The Climate Action Plan is a huge first step in slashing polluting emissions, building smarter, and prioritizing communities overburdened by climate impacts. We’ll be pushing to make sure the implementation of the plan prioritizes cleaning up our transportation systems and transitioning to truly clean heat and electricity. Our homes, land, and critical resources can’t wait.”
“TCI was never going to be enough to address the impacts and needs of the region’s transportation systems,” said Staci Rubin, Vice President of Environmental Justice at CLF. “Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming emissions in New England, and our current systems have overburdened communities of color with air pollution for decades. We must overhaul the way we move people and goods, and it must be done in a way that recognizes and addresses these historic inequities and brings everyone to the table in finding a solution. CLF will continue to work with impacted communities and our states to move that process forward.”
An international climate conference in Glasgow just ended. It’s left me feeling frustrated and angry, but I know I can still find hope in local action.
The House Oversight Committee recently held a hearing to interrogate Big Oil executives about their companies’ decades of deliberate climate disinformation. A disappointing yet unsurprising outcome tells us it’s time for more climate mandates for real accountability.
“Wood-burning power plants spew harmful emissions that poison the air in surrounding communities,” said Staci Rubin, Vice President of Environmental Justice at CLF. “They worsen asthma and other respiratory conditions and set us back in reaching our mandatory climate goals. Industrial biomass plants don’t belong in any community, and it’s time for the Commonwealth to stop providing subsidies for toxic power that is hardly renewable.”
The state’s latest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory shows that we’re already behind on meeting mandatory climate targets. State officials must take charge and steer us towards urgent climate action.
Our communities and neighborhoods deserve to be safe – and we must urgently transition off dirty gas to protect them.
