Today the Senate passed landmark global warming
legislation that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from the Commonwealth
by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. The bill, The
Global Warming Solutions Act, was filed by Senator Marc Pacheco (Taunton) at the beginning
of this session and approved by the Joint Committee on Agriculture the
Environment and Natural Resources in November.
“I applaud the Senate for setting us on course to avoid
the worst effects of global warming,“ said Ben Wright, global warming advocate
for Environment Massachusetts, “with this vote the Senate has shown their
commitment to making Massachusetts a leader in visionary environmental
policy.“
The Global Warming Solutions Act is the most recent, and
boldest, of a string of environmental bills that the Senate has passed since
coming back in session after the holiday break.
“The cap on emissions is particularly important because
it covers all sectors of the economy. RGGI is a great start, especially because
the Senate made sure that it has strong regulations that make polluters pay for
their pollution. But now we need to address other sources of emissions. The
transportation sector alone accounts for 40 percent of all greenhouse gas
emissions in the state, and it is also the fastest growing sector.“ noted
Wright.
“With the passage of the RGGI bill, Safer Alternatives,
the GREEN energy bill and now the Global Warming Solutions Act, Senate
leadership have shown that they are seriously committed to the strong
legislation we need to protect our air, water and open spaces for future
generations, “said Wright
S. 2423 now moves on to the House of Representatives
where there are also signs that the body is willing to deal prioritize
environmental concerns.
“We know that Speaker Salvatore Dimasi has been a great
leader in the push to make sure that Massachusetts is using more clean, renewable
sources of energy to reduce our global warming pollution. This bill is the next
step to ensure a safe climate for future generations in the Commonwealth,“ said
Wright.
