HAPPY MONDAY- Welcome Back! Is it April or February? Might want to keep the snow scraper in the car until June…

Have a news story, suggestion, feedback, or any other info for the CXC Policy Roundup? Email: tim.cronin@cabaus.org.

-Lease Sale Proposed for Two Offshore Wind Areas in Massachusetts: Last Thursday U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the proposed lease sale for two new areas for commercial wind energy off the coast of Massachusetts. totaling just under 400,000 acres.

Secretary Zinke explains his reasoning for the new leases in the Boston Globe, citing a need to bolster American energy dominance and independence.

-New State Website Provides Communities with Climate Change Data: MA Secretary of Energy & Environment Matt Baton and Lt. Governor Karen Polito launched a new website Friday that provides communities brand new statewide climate change projections and information on planning, actions, and tools available to build resiliency and avoid economic loss. Check out the website here.

-UMASS Study: A report released on Friday by the University of Massachusetts points to the challenges Boston and the region face in funding solutions to combat climate change. The UMass report specifically cautions that billions are needed for local climate change preparations over the coming decades.

-Maura Healey wins SJC case against ExxonMobil: Massachusetts’ top court handed state AG Maura Healey a big win when it rejected ExxonMobil’s attempts to stop Healey from obtaining company records climate change. Healey is currently investigating whether the multinational company concealed its knowledge of the role of fossil fuels in climate change and whether doing so violated the state’s consumer protection law.

-Coal Lobbyists Wheeler Confirmed as EPA’s #2: Last week the US Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler as the Deputy Administrator for the EPA. The former coal lobbyist would take over leadership of EPA if its current administrator, Scott Pruitt, resigns or is fired by President Trump. Pruitt is facing multiple scandals over his spending and staffing decisions.

-“New Jersey Takes a Big Step Toward Renewable Energy (and Nuclear Gets Help, for Now)” from New York Times: State lawmakers in New Jersey passed a bill requiring utilities to get 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and subsidize existing nuclear power plants.

-Canadian PM Backs Pipelines Over Protesters: Reuters is reporting that Justin Trudeau will in fact be pushing for pipeline expansion, despite protest from politicians and locals over Kinder Morgan’s pipeline plans in British Columbia.

-Low-Income Solar Program in Illinois: As states move towards renewables, clean energy justice is coming to the forefront of the debate over solar and wind. In an attempt to address social justice issues, Illinois recently dedicated $30 million to its Solar for All program.

-Trump’s Solar Tariffs and the Future of the Industry: Utility Dive recently looked at the lasting effects of the Trump solar tariffs and argues that solar is maturing into a least-cost, best-fit resource for utilities and customers while facing down challenges with plunging costs and new grid services.

-”In Eco-Friendliness, Boston Marathon Finishes Neither First Nor Last” by Ryan Maia, CABA: As far as competitive sports go, running is perhaps the greenest amongst them. Unfortunately, popular sporting events have an astonishing environmental impact, and the Boston Marathon is no exception.

-”Global Warming Is a Central Bank Issue” by Ferdinando Giugliano, Bloomberg: Monetary authorities are right to be mindful of the way in which climate risk affects their mandate to ensure price stability and guard financial stability. But that is different from seeking to promote the shift to a “greener” economy, which is the role of government.

-”Go bigger with offshore wind procurement” by Peter Rothstein, NECEC: “Beyond the state’s recent clean energy procurement, which considered hydro imports, onshore wind projects, and transmission siting, there is a monumental opportunity to diversify the Commonwealth’s energy mix just over the horizon. That opportunity is offshore wind…”

-Gubernatorial Forum on Energy and the Environment:
Hosted by the Environmental League of Massachusetts
Monday April 23 @ 5:00 PM, Boston MA [RSVP link]

-Grid Modernization in Massachusetts: International Insights to Meet 2050 Carbon Goals:

Hosted by the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE)
Wednesday, April 25th @ 3:30 pm, Boston MA [RSVP link]
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CLIMATE XCHANGE PODCAST EPISODE: This week the Cooler Earth podcast team is focusing on the ways in which changing climate patterns influence the spread of diseases, causing a much wider population to be at risk of contracting vector-borne illnesses. They are joined by John Pontillo, an Associate at FSG and former Peace Corp member,

Subscribe and listen on iTunes, Google Play Music, Soundcloud, or Spotify.

FOR MORE CONTENT from us subscribe to the Climate XChange Newsletter (Fridays, bi-weekly) or our Climate Action Business Association Newsletter (Fridays).

Have a news story, suggestion, feedback, or any other info for the CXC Policy Roundup? Email: tim.cronin@cabaus.org.