Boston, M.A.—Today the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued regulations designed to ensure the Commonwealth achieves the greenhouse gas emission reductions mandated by the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA).
In response Emily Norton, Chapter Director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club and Cathy Buckley, its Chair, issued the following statements:
“Governor Charlie Baker, MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg, and the MassDEP staff are to be commended for releasing these regulations,” Norton said. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will slash pollution, improve public health, create jobs, and reduce energy costs for households, businesses, and municipalities. However, we are disappointed that the two biggest sources of carbon pollution, the transportation and heating sectors, received such short shrift. We won’t achieve our climate goals without significant progress on transportation, so Massachusetts should work with other states in the region to put a price on carbon pollution from the transportation sector. These regulations fall short of what is needed.”
“This is a time for Massachusetts and Governor Baker to lead,” Buckley said. “A new report by scientists from 13 federal agencies concluded that the Northeast will be disproportionately impacted by climate change, which is even worse than predictions from three years ago. These regulations make modest progress but we call on the Governor to work with legislative leaders to tackle this problem head on and treat climate change as the urgent public health crisis it is.”
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