Thread by @BarrettSenate

The pace of climate change is picking up -- so the pace of climate policy must pick up. The Next-Gen Climate Roadmap law reflects the concerns of people of every age, from every part of the state. The grassroots climate movement of MA is a force to be reckoned with. (1/22)

Special thanks to @KarenSpilka and @RonMariano , who know how to lead. Special nod to State Rep. @tomtipagolden and his successor, State Rep. @jeffroy , who know how to collaborate. And special shout-out to MA climate activists, who know how to mobilize. (2/22)

(3/22) The New Law:

• Sets a statewide limit for 2050 of "net zero greenhouse gas emissions" and -- as you've undoubtedly heard -- an interim emissions target for 2030 of "at least 50 per cent below the 1990 level." (4/22)

• Sets emissions limits every 5 years instead of every 10, a first-in-the nation step to keep things real and keep us on task. (5/22)

• Sets emissions sublimits for transportation, business buildings, residential buildings, electric power, industrial processes & natural gas infrastructure to ensure that the problem-solving stays focused & specific. Intensifying the focus like this is 1st in the nation. (6/22)

•Factors the "carbon sequestration" capacity of Massachusetts' natural and working lands directly into our emissions reduction plans. Another national first.

(7/22)

•Charts a change of direction for the state's regulator of natural gas and electricity, the Dept of Public Utilities. (8/22)

•The DPU has never gotten an explicit statement of purpose from the Legislature but it gets one now -- to pursue six explicit and co-equal priorities: safety, security, service reliability, affordability, equity, and, importantly, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. (9/22)

•Enshrines in statute a new option -- a high-visibility one of late -- for city and town governments -- to adopt a new "stretch energy code" … one that includes both "net-zero building performance standards" and a definition of "net-zero building." (10/22)

•Aligns Mass Save, Massachusetts' popular energy efficiency program, with the state's climate reduction goals -- instructing it to consider the "social value of greenhouse gas emissions reductions" as it plans programs. (11/22)

•Defines environmental justice population in statute & stipulate that each "comprehensive, clear & specific" plan for hitting the 5yr limits must document steps taken to... (12/22)

..."improve or mitigate economic, environmental & public health impacts…on low- & moderate-income individuals & Environmental Justice populations;" (13/22)

•Prioritizes equitable access to the state’s solar programs by low-income communities;

•Authorizes up to 2,400 additional megawatts of offshore wind;

(14/22)

•Establishes $12 million in annual funding for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, to create a pathway to the clean energy industry for environmental justice populations and minority-owned and women-owned businesses; (15/22)

•Brings to state law a promising new model … developed by @HEET_MA and @MOFpv … for equipping gas utilities with an altogether new and green business model. We're talking geomicrodistricts -- networked heat pumps; (16/22)

•Sets appliance energy efficiency standards for a variety of common appliances including plumbing, faucets, computers, and commercial appliances; (17/22)

•Adopts several measures proposed by labor leaders and aimed at improving gas pipeline safety, including increased fines for safety violations and stronger regulation of the training and certification of independent contractors; (18/22)

•Increases the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 3 percent each year from 2025 – 2029, resulting in 40 percent renewable energy by 2030;

•Exempts businesses from the cap on net metering for solar, to allow them to install solar systems on their premises; (19/22)

•Requires utilities to include an explicit value for greenhouse gas reductions when they calculate the cost-effectiveness of an offering of Mass Save;

(20/22)

•Creates a first-time greenhouse gas emissions standard for municipal lighting plants that requires them to purchase 50 percent non-emitting electricity by 2030 and “net-zero” by 2050; (21/22)

•Sets explicit numerical benchmarks for the adoption of electric vehicles, charging stations, solar technology, energy storage, heat pumps and anaerobic digestors, and other solar technologies. (22/22)