IN 2021, after extensive negotiation, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy, which calls for reducing emissions by 75 percent by 2040 and 85 percent by 2050 relative to 1990 levels. Now, based on the latest IPCC report, those seemingly ambitious goals already seem insufficient. But do we really need […]
Joan Fitzgerald
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Will developers block clean energy standards?
LATE IN THE last session, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a landmark climate bill targeting zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and mandating several mechanisms to achieve the goal. Gov. Baker vetoed the bill on the ground that it would make construction too expensive, echoing concerns raised by contractors and developers. The Legislature then passed the identical bill […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting rid of fossil fuels in buildings
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey recently ruled that Brookline’s clean energy bylaw prohibiting installation of oil and gas lines in new and substantially renovated buildings violates state law. It’s true—state preemption law does not allow cities and towns to pass energy requirements stronger than the state’s code. But cities and towns still have substantial leverage. While […]