2050 “Roadmap” Lays Out Plan for a Greener Commonwealth

Building on the landmark “GreenWorks” legislation we passed in July 2019 that authorized the state to award $100 million per year for a decade directly to our cities and towns for programs designed to directly counter the effects of climate change, we in the House recently passed H.4912 – “An Act Creating a 2050 Roadmap to a Clean and Thriving Commonwealth.”  The bill sets standards for emissions reductions to “net-zero” by 2050.  It would also modernize the Commonwealth’s electrical grid and implement new regulations allowing for the continued growth of our solar and wind power sectors as well as mandate new environmental justice considerations for the first time.

The bill requires that half of the total power sold in the Commonwealth be “non-carbon emitting energy” by 2030, then scales this requirement up to 75% by 2040, and then to a full 100 percent (or “net-zero” carbon emissions) by 2050. It also requires all 41 municipal light plants in the Commonwealth to establish a greenhouse gas emission standard for the first time. 

Additionally, the legislation brings the need for environmental justice to the forefront by creating an Environmental Justice Council.  The Council will provide recommendations to the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to consider environmental justice principles based on median income, minority representation, and college education statistics for certain neighborhoods when making siting and other decisions. The House bill also expands the current solar  energy programs, incentivizing businesses to install solar panel arrays and energy storage facilities on their properties.

The House bill establishes a Clean Energy Equity Workforce and Market Development Center through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to provide workforce training and professional development.  If passed into law, this initiative will help to address and recover the estimated 17,000 jobs lost in the “Green Sector” from March – April alone as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, if fully implemented, will likely create 34,000 new jobs in the future.