A Roadmap for Combatting Climate Change
(This article originally appeared in Commonwealth Magazine.)
(This article originally appeared in Commonwealth Magazine.)
We do not need another study to tell us that the impacts of climate change are here. Storms are growing more intense each year, and we continue to break heat records every summer. We must reach net-zero emissions in the coming decades to ensure these conditions do not get worse, and the 2050 Roadmap Bill provides the plan to get us there.
Biomass developers are pushing for state policy changes that would allow their plants to emit more air pollution, underreport their climate impacts, and take families’ and businesses’ money while harming the health of our communities. CLF is joining Springfield residents and other local groups in fighting back.
Two utilities are looking to pass the costs of new gas projects along to Mainers. But their proposals are inconsistent with Maine’s new climate law.
The world’s oceans are in dire straits. A startling UN report confirms what we at CLF have been saying for years: Without drastic measures to halt climate-damaging emissions and protect our oceans, life in New England, and around the world, will be forever changed. If we act now, we can still protect our oceans and way of life for future generations. But we don’t have a moment to waste.
As they campaign in New Hampshire, presidential candidates must address the critical environmental threats facing our communities.
“Transportation emissions are worsening the climate crisis, and it’s about time the region worked together on a solution,” said Amy Laura Cahn, Director of CLF’s Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice program. “Underserved communities have endured the majority of pollution and a lack of healthy transportation options for too long, and they must be the first to see the benefits from a clean transportation system. While today’s plan is a good first step, we need to be working on all fronts to reduce emissions and improve air quality.”
“Once again the Trump Administration is pandering to big oil and gas at the expense of our health and our communities,” said Emily Green, CLF Staff Attorney. “This new rule attacks critical state standards that keep our air clean. As we run out of time to tackle the climate crisis, this policy moves the country in the wrong direction. It leads directly to a dirtier, more polluted future. No one, not even automakers, wants to hit reverse on these standards.”
“This report is yet another reminder that dithering by world leaders in the face of the climate crisis is becoming more costly and deadly by the minute,” said Bradley Campbell, President of CLF. “Neither the stroke of a Sharpie nor well-intentioned rhetoric can avert or obscure the irreversible damage already done to our oceans and our security. Only a quantum leap in climate leadership can limit the scale of the catastrophe and avoid utter betrayal of future generations.”
As I remember the lives lost in Puerto Rico to Hurricane María, I urge you to join the millions of people on strike today demanding climate action and climate justice. We have the solutions to solve the climate crisis, but we need our political leaders to take action – now.