Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act
The Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), enacted in 2008, establishes a comprehensive plan for addressing the threat of climate change to the Commonwealth. The law requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with sound science, providing a powerful catalyst for innovative approaches to meet the state’s climate goals and build a clean energy economy, creating new jobs and saving consumers money. The law:
- Requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced between 10 and 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020;
- Mandates that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050;
- Requires interim emissions reduction mandates to be set for 2030 and 2040;
- Calls for the development of meaningful plans to achieve these mandates;
- Calls for consideration of policies to adapt to climate change impacts;
- Establishes requirements to measure, track, and report greenhouse gas emissions;
- Requires climate change impacts to be considered in decisions by state agencies, boards, commissions, and authorities, including permitting and licensing decisions.
The Massachusetts GWSA is one of the most robust climate change laws in the nation and positions the commonwealth as a leader in climate change solutions and the clean energy future, it also serves as a model for federal action.
CLF was instrumental in the development and passage of the GWSA and continues to play a major role in its implementation. CLF’s president, John Kassel, serves on a committee that is counseling the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on implementation strategies.
To be able to reduce emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, CLF supports a target of 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. (Massachusetts already is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions an estimated 18 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.) Achieving those targets will require an initiative to make Massachusetts coal-free by 2020; the preservation of Massachusetts’ forests, which absorb and store carbon dioxide; and the allocation of most transportation funding toward public transit and non-motorized transportation alternatives.
Contacts
Susan Reid, senior attorney
Shanna Cleveland, staff attorney