MCAN’s Beacon Hill priorities-More renewables, solar for all, and a carbon price:The Climate Minute Podcast

Recently, MCAN announced it’s legislative priorities for this session of the Massachusetts Legislature. We are pushing to increase our supply of renewable energy, provide access to solar for everyone and to make polluters pay with a price on carbon. You can join MCAN's Legislative Action Team and make a difference. Listen in as we discuss these topics, the Governor’s score card and the brewing fight between New York and FERC.

Increasing Our Renewable Energy:
We need more clean energy, and one great way to move the clean energy market forward is to have the utilities buy more of it. We support increasing the Renewable Portfolio Standard by 3% each year, driving demand for renewable power and growing our local clean energy industry. We also support a statewide solar target of 25% solar by 2030 and eliminating the solar net metering caps. We believe that municipal light plants should be included in the state’s clean energy goals.
Providing Access to Solar for All:
Everyone should be able to get their power from the sun, no matter their community and no matter their income level. This legislation ensures fair compensation to low-income solar and to community-shared solar (net metering) for low-moderate income customers, encourages projects that expand access to communities facing barriers, and directs the Department of Energy Resources to address barriers like income, housing type and language in their program design.
Making Polluters pay through Carbon pricing:
One of the best ways to discourage behavior we don’t want is to put a price on it, and studies have shown that pricing carbon would cut our carbon pollution by up to 10%. This legislation would establish a common-sense fee-and-rebate system of carbon pollution fees charged to fossil fuel importers. The revenues from those fees would go into a dedicated fund, from which each state resident would receive an equal rebate, and employers would get rebates based on their number of employees.
Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon.
Thanks for listening.
…Ted McIntyre