The coronavirus crisis has changed the world over the course of a few weeks. Our lives have been impacted deeply as we adapt to a new normal, distant from our friends and family, and our colleagues. For movement builders and advocates,...
Events
April 4th Roundup: House explores extending session
[ Not a subscriber? Sign up here ] BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - House Leadership Explores options to extend the legislative session: Reporting from Chris Lisinski and Michael Norton of the State House News Service reveals that House leadership is open to the idea...
Let’s Not Trade One Public Health Crisis for Another: COVID Response Can’t Ignore Climate
Last Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a sweeping relaxation of rules in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Power plants and factories can now essentially decide for themselves if they are to comply with existing air and water pollution...
March 26th Roundup: Bag bans under fire
[ Not a subscriber? Sign up here ] BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - “Gov. Baker prohibits reusable shopping bags during coronavirus emergency” (Mary Saladna, WCVB 5): “Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced a new public health order related to grocery stores and pharmacies in...
Local Climate Action Persists in Alaska
Temperatures in Alaska have been rising twice as fast as the global average and two to three times the rate of any other U.S. state. However, the state’s economic reliance on oil and gas, compounded with the fact that both...
The coronavirus outbreak and current pandemic is proving how overwhelming and disruptive health crises can be. While this pandemic is elevating visibility and public concern over public health, there has been another massive issue affecting our communities for decades: pollution...
Over two days, dozens of expert witnesses gathered before the Maryland General Assembly to support legislation to put a price on carbon pollution. The panelists represented a cross section of the bill’s wide support, and included environmental, religious, labor, equity,...
[ Not a subscriber? Sign up here ] BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - Beacon Hill coronavirus updates: On Monday (3/16) the Speaker and Senate President closed the State House to the public in order to limit the spread of the virus. [more on...
We compare the costs of greenhouse gas reduction programs to the value of reducing the worldwide dangers of climate change and of improving health outcomes to determine whether the programs are a cost-effective means for spending large amounts of state...
Where 2020 Democrats Stand on Carbon Pricing [Updated for the 5th Debate]
Note: This article was originally published on June 26th, 2019 ahead of the first set of 2020 Democratic primary debates on June 26th and 27th. It was updated on July 29th ahead of the second round of debates on July 30th...
eXchange ’19 Mid-Atlantic: Vision & Opportunity for Climate Action in the Region
This week, Climate XChange held the Mid-Atlantic Carbon Solutions Summit, a second in a series of regional gatherings we are holding this fall. Earlier this month, the team spent the week in New Mexico for our Southwest Summit, and in...
Carbon Pricing in a Just Transition
A Policy Framework and Case Study of California Cap-and-Trade. Carbon pricing is a promising policy option to help facilitate the transition to a green sustainable economy. It also has the potential to provide substantial and crucial revenue to fund the diverse solutions...
Carbon Offsets are Dominating Headlines – Here’s what you need to know
As the global response to the climate crisis ramps up, carbon offsets have arisen as a central issue in policy decision-making at all levels. Offsets allow polluting entities to compensate for their carbon emissions by funding an equivalent amount of...
A Global Pandemic & A Climate Crisis: Eerily Similar Impacts with Starkly Different Responses
In a matter of weeks, the world — and our lives — have transformed in response to a public health crisis. Throughout China, Italy, Japan, and South Korea, workers have been on lockdown for weeks. Now, companies across the U.S....
March 13th Roundup: How coronavirus is impacting Beacon Hill
[ Not a subscriber? Sign up here ] BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - Coronavirus fears disrupt legislative work, climate advocacy on Beacon Hill: The statehouse is not immune to the wide-reaching impacts coronavirus is having on Massachusetts. In an email to lawmakers on Tuesday, House and Senate...
Hawaii Carbon Pricing Bill Passes Senate (Again)
A carbon pollution pricing bill in Hawaii passed the Senate for the second year in a row. The bill (SB 3150) passed last week by a 23–2 vote, with four Senators voting in favor but with reservations. SB 3150 reconfigures the...
Republican Walkout Halts Cap-and-Invest (Again), but Gov. Brown Commits to Climate
The 2020 Oregon legislative session just ended with yet another Republican walkout, once again halting the passage of cap-and-invest legislation. In late February, Senate Bill 1530 made it to the Senate floor. However, Republican Senators refused to attend the vote, prompting...
How municipalities are playing a part in solving the climate crisis
We highlighted the efforts of eight municipalities enacting climate policies across the US. Click the map below to read more about each municipality.As federal climate action continues to lag, states are taking the lead in proposing and championing comprehensive climate...
U.S. Agriculture set to tackle carbon emissions with USDA plan
Last month, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, unveiled a plan to reduce 50% of emissions in the agricultural sector by 2050 called the “Innovation Agenda.” Perdue is the former Republican Governor of Georgia, and has been criticized previously...
March 5th Roundup: Gas tax passes House
Not a subscriber? Sign up here BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS - Keep an Eye on the Massachusetts 2050 Roadmap Bill: With the passage of its Next Generation Climate bills in January 2020, the Massachusetts Senate laid out its vision for comprehensive climate policy this...
Bay State’s proposed Climate Policy Commission: a model for climate oversight
In January 2020, the Massachusetts Senate proposed an innovative way of providing independent oversight over the state’s climate policy. The chamber’s recently passed package of climate bills includes language establishing a climate policy commission to help the Commonwealth achieve its...
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