ENE Praises Senate Committee for Pushing Global Warming Solutions Act Nov '07 Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2007

Contact: Sam Krasnow, 617-469-6375
Meg Wilcox, 617-319-6457

Environment Northeast Praises Senate Committee for Pushing
Global Warming Solutions Act

Act Mandates 80 Percent Cut in Carbon Emissions by 2050

Boston, MA—Environment Northeast commends the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture for recommending passage today of Senate bill 534, the Global Warming Solution Act, sponsored by Senator Marc Pacheco (D—First Plymouth and Bristol). The Act would mandate an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050 across all sectors of the economy—including transportation—and make Massachusetts a national and international leader on global warming policy.

“This bill catapults Massachusetts to the forefront of the fight against global warming, and gives the state an edge in the clean energy economy by catalyzing the growth of clean energy businesses and jobs,” said Sam Krasnow, policy analyst and attorney at Environment Northeast.
Modeled after California’s successful global warming act, the bill requires cuts in the carbon emissions that cause global warming of 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050, and would set up a greenhouse gas registry. It also mandates a low carbon fuel standard to reduce emissions from motor vehicles, which produce about 35 percent of the state’s global warming pollution, and calls for an investigation into the expansion of rail service, among other specific next steps.

The Global Warming Solutions Act complements the Green Communities Act by requiring cuts in global warming pollution from all emission sources, including from electricity generation, transportation, commercial, industrial and residential sectors. The Green Communities Act focuses on electricity generation and natural gas use and will significantly help reduce emissions through increased investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The bill passed out of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture today, an important step towards getting the bill to the governor’s desk.

Environment Northeast is a non-profit research and policy organization addressing climate change, and other large scale environmental challenges, in the Northeast and eastern Canada with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Prince Edward Island, Canada.