Dec. 19th Roundup: TCI makes a big splash

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– Programming Note: This is the last Roundup of the year! Our next edition will come out on Tuesday, January 7th, 2019. Enjoy the holidays, and have a happy new year!

TALKING TCI

– “TCI releases draft policy design: What you need to know” (Jonah Kurman Faber, Climate XChange) [read the article]

– “East Coast States Draft a Plan to Tackle Transportation Emissions” (Eve Zuckoff, WCAI): “Nearly a dozen states, including Massachusetts, are collaborating on the Transportation & Climate Initiative, a regional program that would curb greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. On Tuesday they released the first draft of their “cap and invest” plan, which would impose a fee on fuel distributors. Those distributors would have to pay a fee for each ton of carbon emitted when the fuels they sell are burned.”

– “New Hampshire pulls out of regional Transportation & Climate Initiative agreement that could bring $500 million a year to Massachusetts” (Tanner Stening, MassLive) [read the article]

BEACON HILL HAPPENINGS

– Green Budget Coalition Rampes up for FY2021: The Green Budget Coalition, a group of environmental nonprofits convened by the Environmental League of Massachusetts, has announced their priorities for next year’s FY2021 budget. Included are three priorities from last budget including funding for parks and Recreation, DEP Administration, and the Division of Ecological Restoration. The Coalition is also adding a new priority: funding for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

– “Healey takes on grid operator” (Bruce Mohl, Commonwealth Magazine): “Attorney General Maura Healey, backed by the Barr Foundation, is launching a campaign to convince the operator of the regional power grid to embrace renewables and move away from electricity produced using fossil fuels.”

ALL POLICY IS LOCAL

– “Cambridge’s ‘Passive House’ Is Built With Focus On Affordable Housing, Climate Change” (Bruce Gellerman, WBUR’s Earthwhile) [read the article]

– “N.H.-Bound Coal Train Kept Rolling, Despite Activists On The Tracks” (Miriam Wasser, WBUR’s Earthwhile) [read the article]

– “Demand for Gas Questioned in Kennedy Appeal to Block Compressor” (Chris Lisinski, State House News Service) [read the article]

LOCAL IDEAS

– “Fighting Climate Change Isn’t Free. But A New Plan Could Ease Traffic And Cut Emissions In An Equitable Way” by Frederick Hewett, via WBUR Cognoscenti.

– “Save the planet and money at the same time” by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, via Commonwealth Magazine.

– “Letter to the Editor: The Brookline gas ban is only a symbolic gesture if left alone” by Michael Kim, via the Wicked Local Brookline.

– “Climate change demands raising infrastructure standards” by Senator Nick Collins, Representative Sarah Peake and Bradley Campbell, via Commonwealth Magazine.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

– “COP25 ends with unanswered questions on carbon markets and climate ambition” (Jonah Kurman Faber, Climate XChange) [read the article]

– “Live from COP 25: Three Takeaways from the United Nations Climate Negotiations” (Noa Dalzell, Climate XChange) [read the article]

OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

– “Mass. Sets New Limits On Toxic PFAS Chemicals” (Barbara Moran, WBUR’s Earthwhile) [read the article]


OFFSHORE WIND

– “Federal Talks Leave Mixed Bag for Wind Energy” (Colin A. Young, State House News Service): “Climate advocates and industry groups were critical of the U.S. House this week after a long-term extension of a tax credit designed to assist offshore wind energy developers did not come to pass as part of spending bills, but some wind watchers said offshore projects might still be able to claim some federal benefits.”

– “States express support for offshore wind in Gulf of Maine” (Michael Casey, Associated Press) [read the article]

SOLAR MATTERS

– “Delegation weighs in on state solar rules rewrite” ( Colin A. Young, SHNS via SouthCoast Today) [read the article]

ROUNDUP REDUX

Missed the last CXC Roundup? Here are the top three climate headlines from last week:

  1. “Cracking the climate code”

  2. “27 Young Climate Activists Arrested On Trespassing Charges At State House Protest”

  3. “Northampton climate plan generates comment, controversy”

Read the full Roundup here from December 11th, 2019 here.


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