As the new home of MASSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Massachusetts can be contacted regarding this news release.
SOUTH
HADLEY—Representative Scibak today received an award from MASSPIRG, the
statewide environmental group, for his work to pass the Global Warming
Bill this session. The bill, championed by Representative Scibak and
other legislators, would cut global warming pollution from power plants
in the state, and is under consideration by the Senate.
“We’re
thrilled that Representative Scibak has taken on a leadership role in
the fight to solve global warming,” said Maura Finigan, Campaign
Director with MASSPIRG. “Global warming is the greatest environmental
problem of this generation, and the Global Warming Bill will put
Massachusetts on track to solving it.”
The
bill would have the state join a regional program negotiated by
northeast governors over the last three years, called the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Gov. Romney was expected to support the
program, but backed out at the eleventh hour. Seven other northeast
governors—from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York,
New Jersey, and Delaware—signed the agreement in December 2005. Then in
April 2006 the Maryland legislature passed a bill to join the
agreement, making it the eighth northeast state in the program.
Power
plants in the region would be put under a pollution cap starting in
2009, and then would ratchet down pollution ten percent by 2019. Plant
owners can use a market-based trading system to comply with the limits.
“The
best minds in the region have set about to solve global warming, and
they came up with this plan,” said Finigan. “Massachusetts should be
leading the way toward a cleaner energy future, and this bill will
position us to do just that. Plus, if we do this right and expand
energy efficiency programs, we’ll actually be lowering energy bills
while also cutting pollution.”
