The new Massachusetts climate law is a good step towards cutting pollution – now our decision-makers need to get to work implementing it. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Donald Trump has been elected president. Now what? Will we scrap federal laws and policies aimed at cutting carbon pollution? While the national picture is uncertain, we have some good news here at home.
States still have the power to work towards cleaner air, better health, and a safer future in the face of our overheating planet. That’s what Massachusetts did this month when it passed its new climate and clean energy law.
So, here’s what you need to know about the law and how it keeps us on track to protect ourselves and the people we love from extreme weather, toxic pollution, and more.
1. The New Massachusetts Climate Law Requires the State and Energy Developers to Think More Holistically
The state government and energy developers must assess all new energy developments, like power plants or poles and wires, to see how it will impact the environment. This bill adds a clearer lens to that assessment for how developments would impact surrounding communities. It looks at not only what the community would experience but also what the community has experienced. The reality is Massachusetts has a habit of constructing energy projects in Black and Brown neighborhoods and communities with low-socioeconomic status. These communities have often pushed back on such development but haven’t been able to show how the new project’s impacts add up with impacts from previous projects, like chronically low air quality.
The state government’s and developers’ environmental analysis now must add up past, present, and future potential health, environmental, and financial consequences to help ensure we don’t continue this cycle of sacrificing some residents to benefit others. This is one of many steps the law takes to put people at the forefront of cutting carbon pollution.
2. The Law Strengthens Our Electric System Against Increasingly Severe Weather
We’ve all seen the worsening rainfall and storms in the past few years. We know extreme weather is getting worse – so why aren’t our electric utilities preparing for it?
Typically, utility companies avoid necessary upgrades to fortify our electricity system, wait for a major storm to wreak havoc, and then scramble to fix things with costly, last-minute repairs. Meanwhile, we suffer from avoidable power outages while paying for those expensive repairs. In the past year, utilities have been planning for our electric system to expand because of a surge in families and businesses using clean technology like heat pumps and electric vehicles. But they haven’t paid enough attention to how extreme weather threatens the system.
The new law provides several opportunities to break this frustrating pattern of procrastination. For example, the law streamlines clean energy infrastructure’s permitting process, allowing utilities to make long-term upgrades to power lines, substations, and more without years of backlogs and delays. Utilities building these upgrades invest in a more reliable electricity system – saving us all money each time a storm rolls around.
3. It Also Paves the Way for 100% Clean Energy
We can’t upgrade to our clean energy future without all-hands-on-deck. That includes gas companies and state leaders working together to navigate what a seamless transition looks like. The new law helps push this path forward in a few ways.
First, it grants gas companies the ability to give customers something other than polluting fuels. For example, companies can build geothermal energy networks that use the natural heat generated below ground to regulate the temperature in our homes and businesses. (Framingham has a pilot geothermal project already.) Even better, in some cases, companies can recycle old gas infrastructure for this upgrade.
The law also modifies a state program that originally incentivized continually repairing and replacing old, leaky gas pipelines. When we know we need to upgrade to 100% clean energy and cut carbon pollution, simply replacing outdated pipelines is an unproductive solution. It’s expensive for one, a cost passed down to gas customers via their bills. But it also just puts a flimsy Band-Aid over a much larger problem. We need to redirect that money to longer-lasting, stronger clean energy infrastructure. So, the new law reworks the state program to incentivize shorter-term fixes like patching up leaks and then retiring pipelines – allowing us to use that money and time for cleaner, safer, and healthier energy.
What Comes Next
I’m grateful the legislature worked to get this law over the finish line. Now comes the more challenging task of implementing the law – just like every other law aimed at addressing carbon pollution and clean energy Massachusetts has passed. Because without action, these laws are just empty promises on paper. CLF will be at the table to ensure the state gets to work, putting teeth to its words so that all of us can benefit from clean energy, lower bills, and a healthier planet.
