As the new home of MASSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Massachusetts can be contacted regarding this news release.
CAMBRIDGE
—Senator Barrios and Representative Wolf today received awards from
MASSPIRG, the statewide environmental group, for their work to pass the
Global Warming Bill this session. The bill, championed by Senator
Barrios, Representative Wolf, 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 Senator Barrios and Representative Wolf have taken on a
leadership role in the fight to solve global warming,” said Celia
Paris, MASSPIRG Campaign Coordinator. “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 Paris. “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.”
