Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Chair Barrett and Members of the Senate Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy:  

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.2135/H.3237 (Gomez, Williams, & Ramos): An Act establishing a moratorium on new gas system expansion.

This summer has been an ongoing series of warning signs of the need to take bold and comprehensive action on climate change. Earlier this month, from July 3 to July 6, we experienced the four hottest days on record globally. We have seen extreme flooding hit neighboring states as well as our own, and the same for the dystopian impacts of raging wildfires in Canada.

This should serve as a wake-up call that our response to climate change, despite recent progress, is not enough. We have known for many years now that the majority of fossil fuels must be left in the ground if we are to have even a chance of staying within safe boundaries of global warming.

The state has a commendable goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, but we will not be able to reach that if we continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in the Commonwealth.

These bills would establish a moratorium on new gas system expansion. The moratorium, which would last at least through 2026, would create time to work out a plan for what a just transition looks like and would prevent us from rushing into new infrastructure that, if we are to meet our own goals, cannot and will not be used.

Pipelines are built to be used, and we should avoid creating the lock-in effect for unsustainable fuels that are harmful to human and environmental health.

We need to say farewell to fossil fuels and give our full embrace to the suite of policies needed for an equitable and ecologically resilient future.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Monday, July 17, 2023

Chair Barrett and Members of the Senate Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy:  

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give a favorable report to An Act establishing a zero carbon renovation fund (H.3232), filed by Rep. Andy Vargas.

This summer has been an ongoing series of warning signs of the need to take bold and comprehensive action on climate change. Earlier this month, from July 3 to July 6, we experienced the four hottest days on record globally. We have seen extreme flooding hit neighboring states, and the same for the dystopian impacts of raging wildfires in Canada.

Fortunately, we know what we need to do to mitigate climate change. According to the recent Massachusetts Clean Heat Commission Final Report, achieving our state’s climate goals will require retrofitting an additional 500,000 residential homes and roughly 300 million square feet of commercial buildings to utilize energy-efficient electric heating by 2030, with a pace of 20,000-25,000 home installations a year ahead of 2025, ramping up to 80,000 a year in the latter half of the decade, and over 100,000 residential homes per year thereafter. If we want to meet our goals, we need to start accelerating and scaling our actions.

This bill would allocate $300 million for a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund (ZCRF), administered by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, to jumpstart the market for zero carbon renovations. Such renovations would include (1) maximizing energy efficiency through building envelope upgrades, (2) electrification of building systems, (3) maximizing usage of on-site renewable energy, wherever possible, and (4) use of building retrofit materials that are low embodied carbon.

Importantly, this bill understands that our sustainability transition must be an equitable one, and that some of the oldest housing stock is that where low-income communities and communities of color live. Accordingly, the ZCRF would prioritize affordable housing, public housing, low- and moderate-income homes, schools, BIPOC- and women-owned businesses, and buildings located in Environmental Justice communities.

We’ve seen positive steps from Gov. Healey about investing in green retrofits, but we must scale up that work.

The Legislature has made an ongoing commitment to passing climate legislation. Last session, you took important steps to expand the wind energy industry and to decarbonize transportation, among other steps. Decarbonizing buildings must be at the center of new climate legislation, as buildings make up a large share of our carbon emissions.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Chair Barrett and Members of the Senate Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and the Environment:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.2113/H.3187: An Act Relative to Energy Facilities Siting Reform to Address Environmental Justice, Climate, and Public Health (DiDomenico/ Madaro).

Our state has strong climate goals, but goals are only as good as the plans to meet them. If we want to meet our emissions targets, then we need to be accelerating the transition to renewable energy and building the sustainable, distributed grid that can make that a reality.

Our current energy facility siting system is an obstacle to achieving these goals. Utility companies like Eversource and National Grid exploit our outdated siting system to maximize their profits at the expense of communities and ratepayers. They build expensive, heavy-polluting facilities based on fuels that need to be left in the ground, and against the will of environmental justice communities.

We need a process that works smoothly and one that engages communities before projects get started. Engaging community at the start in an intentional way lowers costs and produces better outcomes for all, as does providing early attention to the climate and public health impacts of a siting decision.

That’s where the Siting Improvement bill comes in. It updates the Siting Board to incorporate public health and climate into approval criteria and adds seats for a representative of environmental justice populations and an Indigenous representative. Moreover, it recognizes that effective process starts early by requiring upfront community engagement and analysis, and it prohibits projects that increase pollution in already overburdened communities.

We need to be scaling up our deployment of renewable energy, and we need a siting reform process that works to achieve that, rather than one that keeps us buried in the past.

We additionally urge a favorable report for S.2150/H.3225: An Act to Encourage Solar Development on Buildings and Disturbed Land (Mark /Sabadosa – Garballey). This bill would incentivize new community solar projects in the built and disturbed environment, allowing more renters to access the benefits of solar and helping us; the bill is a win-win proposal that helps us accelerate clean energy, reduce pressure on natural lands, and create economic opportunities.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Chair Rausch, Chair Cahill, and Members of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I’m the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide, member-based grassroots advocacy organization fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic Commonwealth. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.872/S.481: An Act establishing a climate change superfund and promoting polluter responsibility (“Polluters Pay”), filed by Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Steve Owens.

Massachusetts is already facing the impacts of climate change, and it will only get worse. The increased incidence of storms will damage coastlines and increase inland flooding: the state has projected that inland property damage due to climate change will increase by almost 50% by mid-century, with a disproportionate impact on low-income communities. Additional rail repair costs from extreme temperatures could reach $6 million per year by 2050 and a striking $35 million by the end of the century, and repair costs for electric transmission and utility distribution infrastructure alone are projected to increase by almost $100 million by 2050, with power outages disproportionately impacting low-income communities again. Not to mention the impact on human health and lives.¹ 

Meanwhile, major fossil fuel companies are seeing record profits. The very companies who lied to the public for decades about climate change are benefiting while all of us, especially the most vulnerable, bear the cost. 

We already have a successful model for addressing these situations of public damages, private profits: the “polluter pays” principle. This principle is employed in all of the major US pollution control laws: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (solid waste and hazardous waste management), and Superfund (cleanup of abandoned waste sites). 

This bill would extend that proven principle to the climate crisis by establishing a climate change adaptation cost recovery program. It would require companies that have contributed significantly to the buildup of climate-warming greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere to bear a share of the costs of needed infrastructure investment, based on their historic emissions. 

This bill would raise an estimated $75 billion over 25 years from the 20 largest polluting companies to provide funding for climate resiliency efforts such as restoring coastal wetlands; upgrading roads, bridges, subways, and transit systems; preparing for and recovering from hurricanes and other extreme weather events; installing energy efficient cooling systems; upgrading the electrical grid; and expanding green spaces and urban forestry.

Moreover, the bill understands that our sustainability transition must be a just one, with key provisions to ensure that sufficient funds go to environmental justice populations and that the funding goes to the creation of good-paying jobs. 

Massachusetts has taken important steps toward climate mitigation in recent sessions and we must continue to do so to meet our state’s climate goals, but we also need to address the climate crisis that is already hitting communities. This bill shows a way forward. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts 

Endnotes

[]1 Gloninger, Chris and Asher Klein. “When a Major Hurricane Hits New England, the Costs Will Be Huge.” NBC News. July 25, 2019. https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/catastrophic-hurricane-new-england-modeling/92234/; Zhao, Bo. The Effects of Weather on Massachusetts Municipal Expenditures: Implications of Climate Change for Local Governments in New England. Boston: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2023; 2022 Massachusetts Climate Change Assessment. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2022. https://www.mass.gov/doc/2022-massachusetts-climate-change-assessment-december-2022-volume-i-executive-summary/download.