October 22, 2024 /3BL/ - Ceres welcomes a long-awaited agreement between both chambers of the Massachusetts Legislature to advance critical energy legislation that builds on the state’s legacy of leading climate action. The legislation, which both chambers are expected to vote on this week, includes essential reforms to the state’s permitting and siting procedures to responsibly accelerate the buildout of clean energy infrastructure and secure new investments in clean power, transportation, and buildings.
“Ceres and the businesses we work with are grateful that House and Senate negotiators were able to reach a deal and today advance legislation that fortifies Massachusetts as a climate leader,” said Rishi Reddi, senior advisor for Northeast state policy at Ceres. “By investing in clean power, clean transportation, and clean buildings while protecting ratepayers and communities, this legislation will position the Commonwealth to fully capitalize on the nationwide clean energy boom by deploying the crucial technologies that will support our economy and protect our climate.”
Ceres helped organize business support for the climate omnibus throughout 2024. In July, Ceres joined an effort led by the Environmental League of Massachusetts to convene 28 leading businesses and institutions to call for passage of the climate omnibus bill in a letter to lawmakers. In the letter, companies including Akamai Technologies, Amalgamated Bank, Eastern Bank, Form Energy, Trillium Asset Management, and VHB joined institutions such as Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, the Museum of Science, and UMass Lowell urged legislators to pass the law and “enable communities across the Commonwealth to take action to meet our statutory clean energy and emission-reduction goals for 2025 and 2030.”
And in September, Ceres CEO Mindy Lubber published an op-ed on WBUR’s Cognoscenti website, calling on lawmakers to hold a special legislative session to pass the climate bill, as well as economic development legislation that would include $1 billion in clean technology investment. The two bills, she wrote, would capitalize on the nationwide boom in clean energy and allow Massachusetts to harness “strong economic tailwinds that the high-tech and life science sectors delivered the state in previous generations.”
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and sustainable world. United under a shared vision, our powerful networks of investors and companies are proving sustainability is the bottom line—changing markets and sectors from the inside out. For more information, visit ceres.org.
Media Contact: Helen Booth-Tobin, booth-tobin@ceres.org