Roadmap Endorsements Related Information

Support for Environment Northeast’s  Climate Change Roadmap for  New England and Eastern Canada

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)

“While Washington has attempted to move forward with solutions, Connecticut and other northeast states are moving forward to tackle the global warming crisis.  Once again, Environment Northeast is leading the way, generating in its Climate Roadmap, pragmatic policy solutions that can be implemented immediately at the state level and serve as a model for federal and international action.

I encourage civic leaders, business owners, and elected officials alike to read and seriously consider these solutions; they are key elements of the policies needed if we are to manage our energy costs, promote energy independence, and build sustainable economies and communities. Global Warming is perhaps one of the greatest challenges of our time, and the actions we take to mitigate it now will define the world we leave for future generations.  The Climate Roadmap can be a model for national climate change policy, and a catalyst for the important debate and collaboration that must now begin in earnest.”

U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

“I am very pleased that the Northeast states, including Maine, have joined together to move forward with a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.  These forward-thinking states now have ENE’s Climate Roadmap to follow as they work to advance the climate change debate.  This roadmap should lead the way toward a national call to action and demonstrate US leadership on the issue of global warming.  We can afford to do nothing less than fulfill our moral and economic obligation to the generations that follow in our state, region, country, and the world.”

Angus King, Former Governor (I-Maine), Brunswick, Maine

"Six years ago, when I co-signed the resolution by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers that first identified global warming as a major concern for this region, I knew the states and provinces faced a long road ahead, and that we would benefit by starting the journey as soon as possible.  As with any journey, it is best to have a clear sense of our destination and the route we must travel to get there.  The arrival of Environment Northeast’s comprehensive, detailed Climate Change Roadmap for New England and Eastern Canada puts a valuable planning tool in the hands of stakeholders and policy makers at a critical time.  The Climate Roadmap’s close attention to regional opportunities for increasing investment, expanding markets and managing energy costs provides important guidance for finding the right combination of solutions that we can implement for the benefit of our region’s economy as well as our ecosystem."

William Moomaw, Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Director, International Environment and Resource Program, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts

“The Climate Change Roadmap from Environment Northeast is more than the name implies.  Not only does it document the heat trapping gas emissions that are emitted from New England and Eastern Canada (which rank us in the top 25 emitters among nations), it proposes a detailed analysis of how we can reduce these emissions in comprehensive yet specific terms appropriate to our region.  In place of generic recommendations about improving efficiency or adopting low emission technologies, this report summarizes the divergent laws in each state and province and the gaps between where our policies are and where they need to be.   I was especially pleased to see the report argue for tough standards for coal power plants, and calls for distributed systems and renewable options, net metering and obligatory building and efficiency standards. The message on transportation is equally clear on the need for actions to improve vehicle efficiency and to reduce vehicle miles traveled which can best be done by state based smart growth strategies.  The report is an informed and informing guide of what must be done and how our region can move quickly to reduce our emissions.”

Ralph Torrie, Vice President, ICF International, Toronto, Ontario

“With the Climate Change Roadmap, Environment Northeast is showing us that there is a positive, possible future in which we can dramatically reduce the pollution that is causing global warming.  This pioneering work sets out in a detailed, practical way the technologies and the policies that can get us there.  It is a future with many other benefits, including enhanced security, cleaner air, and the promise of economic renewal throughout the eastern Canada and the northeast United States.  Let’s get going.”

Armond Cohen, Clean Air Task Force

“Moderating harmful climate change is a huge and complicated task. If the bioregion of New England and eastern Canada is going to lead the way for the world, as I believe it can, ENE’s roadmap is going to be essential.  We simply can’t start without a clear and factual description of all of the region’s greenhouse gas sources; the available technological pathways; and a realistic first cut appraisal of what they may achieve within reasonable time frames. If we are going to move from bumper sticker slogans to real world solutions, ENE’s roadmap is the best beginning I can imagine.  Agree or disagree with some of the specifics, ENE has done us a huge service in framing the right questions and should become the standard reference point for debate and action in the next several years.”

David Coon, Policy Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick and National Chair of the Canadian Climate Action Network, St. Stephen, New Brunswick

"Drawing on the expertise of policy makers throughout the region, Environment Northeast has crafted what is sure to become a centerpiece in climate change policy discussions.  It offers us a way forward, to make deep cuts in the emissions of heat-trapping gases that are destabilizing our climate.  The question now is whether the political will exists to adopt the road map, or whether we will continue down the catastrophic path we are now heading."

Bill Prindle, Deputy Director, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Washington, DC

"ENE has mapped a path to a sustainable climate that also sustains a healthy economy. Going far beyond generalities, this report documents real and achievable steps governments can take to use energy efficiency and other low-carbon technologies to cut carbon emissions while driving a new economy based on clean energy investment."

James Gustave Speth, Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, Connecticut

“Federal and international institutions have not effectively dealt with the looming crisis of global warming. Until they do, what is needed is akin to jazz improvisation, marshalling at once the ingenuity and creativity of entrepreneurs, corporations, state and local governments, and environmental advocates to build a more modern economy and a clean, sustainable eco-system.  The Climate Roadmap provides a detailed, practical playbook – a kind of musical score -- of policy recommendations and guidance that can help us achieve that goal. With the release of its Climate Roadmap, Environment Northeast has earned a place among the ‘maestros of jazz’ seeking to shape a more secure, prosperous and healthy planet.”

Robert H. McLaren, President - Massachusetts and New Hampshire Distribution - National Grid

“The Climate Roadmap from Environment Northeast comes at a critical moment.  Making responsible long-term decisions about infrastructure investments and energy policies such as those faced by the utility industry requires a sound understanding of the future energy needs of our economy.  The Climate Roadmap offers a new and thought provoking vision of that energy future, and proposes a number of innovative actions that can help foster its realization.  National Grid commends Environment Northeast on its efforts to work with all interested parties to meet both their individual needs and the common goal of protecting the environment for future generations."

Howard Hertzog, MIT

"ENE's Climate Roadmap raises very interesting questions about whether CO2 generated in New England and the Atlantic provinces can find a home for long term storage in underground, geologic formations.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that significant quantities of CO2 from energy and industrial sources can be stored for thousands of years in geologic reservoirs, making carbon dioxide capture and storage an important option for addressing climate change.  It makes sense for this region to be asking where and how it might use this option, and ENE has put these questions squarely before us."