Baker admin releases emissions reduction goals
With Gov. Charlie Baker describing climate change as a "serious threat," the state's clean air agency unveiled draft regulations Friday aimed at securing greenhouse gas emission reductions from the natural gas, transportation and electricity generation industries.
The regulations, which will be vetted during a series of public hearings scheduled for February, were assembled after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in May that the state must seek emissions reductions across economic sectors to meet the requirements of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA).
That 2008 law requires the state to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 25 percent below 1990 emissions levels by 2020. As of 2013, the state had reduced emissions by 19.7 percent from 1990s levels, according to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The package of new regulations aims to achieve an additional 7.2 percent reduction by 2020.
The law requires a reduction of at least 80 percent by 2050.
The Supreme Judicial Court's ruling vacated a Superior Court ruling and concluded that DEP regulations do not fulfill the specific requirements of the GWSA.
The high court ruling required the department to promulgate rules "that address multiple sources of categories of sources of greenhouse gas emissions, impose a limit on emissions that may be released, limit the aggregate emissions released from each group of regulated sources or categories of sources, set emission limits for each year, and set limits that decline on an annual basis."
The regulations also stem from an "integrated climate change strategy" executive order Gov. Charlie Baker issued in September. That order directed the DEP to propose draft regulations by Friday and to finalize the regulations by Aug. 11, 2017.
"With these proposed regulations, the Commonwealth is ensuring that we both meet the rigorous emission reductions limits established in the Global Warming Solutions Act and continue to protect public health and safety, infrastructure, communities, small businesses, and our state's abundant natural resources from the effects of climate change," Baker said in a statement.
According to the DEP, six draft regulations aim to extract emissions reductions from the natural gas distribution network, the transportation sector, gas-insulated switchgear, electricity generation and consumption. The regulations also feature carbon dioxide emission limits for state government's fleet of passenger vehicles and call for methane emission reductions from natural gas mains and services, and a clean energy standard for retail electricity sellers.
"The court decision and Executive Order 569 were very clear in requiring MassDEP to work expeditiously on rules to obtain emissions reductions in Massachusetts, and these draft regulations do just that," said DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. "We will be transparent in our efforts to establish limits to reach our 2020 goals, fully involve the public in this effort, and implement a plan that protects the environment and the public health by cutting and limiting pollutants in the atmosphere."
Conservation Law Foundation senior attorney David Ismay called the draft regulations a "good start," but said they should go further to fulfill the state's obligations under the GWSA.
"It is notable and encouraging that several regulations extend beyond 2020 to 2050, and includes even if minimally, efforts to begin reducing emissions in the transportation sector. Both are necessary and long overdue," Ismay said in an email.
Ismay, however, said the aggregate cap on state power plant emissions should be "tighter" and set at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide lower than proposed on Friday.
The transportation sector is the single largest sector of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts, according to the agency, accounting for 40.8 percent of such emissions in 2013. Between 1990 and 2013, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Massachusetts transportation sector increased, compared to reductions in other sectors such as electricity, residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture.
The vast majority of emissions reductions from the transportation sector are associated with the state's low emission vehicle program.
The electric sector is the second largest sector of emissions in Massachusetts, with associated emissions from homes and businesses accounting for about 21.5 percent of all emissions, according to the DEP. From 1990 to 2013, GHG emissions in the Massachusetts electric sector decreased 42 percent.
The DEP on Friday announced the following public hearing schedule:
Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and at 6 p.m., MassDEP's Boston Office, 1 Winter Street, Boston.
Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, at 9 a.m., MassDEP's Southeast Regional Office, 20 Riverside Drive, Lakeville.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., MassDEP's Central Regional Office, 8 New Bond Street, Worcester.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at 2 p.m., Springfield Central Library, 220 State Street, Springfield.
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