Over 40% of New England’s climate-damaging emissions billow from the exhaust pipes of our cars, trucks, semis, buses, and trains. We cannot solve climate change without cutting that pollution. And in the process, we have a unique opportunity to reimagine our region’s transportation systems as ones that are both affordable and accessible to everyone.
“President Biden’s ambitious goal promises the aggressive push we need to confront the existential threat that is the climate crisis,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Several New England states have already committed to strong, science-based reductions in climate-damaging emissions, and it’s time the rest of the country catches up with our leadership.”
“Dirty, industrial biomass pollutes our neighborhoods and has no place in our clean energy future,” said Kirstie Pecci, Interim Director of CLF’s Environmental Justice program. “Massachusetts residents deserve clean air and a livable future. The Commonwealth should not subsidize power plants or incinerators that will harm communities already bearing the brunt of local pollution and climate impacts.”
We find ourselves on the cusp of a sea change in how we transport people and goods as we urgently work to cut the climate-damaging emissions that spew from New Englanders’ tailpipes.
Biden’s infrastructure package represents a critical investment in our future, infusing much-needed funding to ramp up New England’s transition to a carbon-free economy by 2050.
UPDATE: The Rhode Island legislature passed the Act On Climate 2021 bill, which will put the state on track to lowering its climate-damaging emissions and help Rhode Islanders benefit from the transition to a clean energy economy. After a final review, the bill will go to Governor McKee to sign into law.
After years of advocacy from CLF and our partners, Massachusetts has passed a critical climate and environmental justice bill that updates our existing climate law and adds protections for historically marginalized communities.
Any plan to lower emissions in Massachusetts must not only consider how to cut the largest sources of carbon pollution – for the Commonwealth, that’s transportation and heating – but also how to ensure all residents have equal access to its solutions.
Biden’s flurry of executive orders addressing climate change, conservation, and environmental justice has us optimistic. Now we must ensure his administration follows through and turns these orders into meaningful and actionable policy.
Cities with aggressive climate standards are running into roadblocks. Achieving these goals will require strong building energy codes and ending the use of fossil fuels in buildings and homes. We’re starting to see that neither the natural gas utilities nor the real estate industry will sit by quietly as cities and states enforce stronger building codes and ban natural gas infrastructure in new construction.
