Q2 Update 2007
Quarter 2 Update
May, June, July 2007
School Bus Clean-Up Laws Passed in Two States; Massachusetts Looks Beyond Buses
New Laws in New England Promote Cleaner Energy Systems and Lower Costs
Governors and Premiers Adopt Climate and Energy Policies at Annual Meeting
Exploring Carbon Offsets
School Bus Clean-Up Laws Passed in Two States; Massachusetts Looks Beyond Buses
Connecticut
June 27th -The Connecticut General Assembly voted to commit $10 million over a two-year period to purchase and install pollution control devices on approximately 3,400 school buses in the state. This will cover all of the school buses that are suitable for retrofitting. The Connecticut Alliance Against Diesel Pollution (CAADP), formed by Environment Northeast in 2003, built momentum for this success throughout 2006 by pulling together a large list of supporting organizations, generating extensive press coverage, and orchestrating constituent outreach to individual legislators.
Rhode Island
June 25th -The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a law mandating clean-up of its fleet of diesel school buses. The new law calls for:
Retiring the dirtiest buses, model year 1993 and older;
Installing pollution control devices on the remaining school buses by 2010; and,
The Department of Environmental Management to identify opportunities for cleaning up waste haulers and state vehicles, and to present its findings in a report to the General Assembly and Governor by January 1, 2008.
Massachusetts
June 25th -Health advocates, Clean Air Task Force scientists, and teens from urban communities hit hard by diesel pollution packed a hearing room at the Massachusetts State House to testify in favor of a bill that would slash diesel pollution in the state. ENE spent much of 2006 designing, analyzing and drafting components of this new legislation, which would require deep reductions in diesel pollution from: state-owned, contracted or leased vehicles; municipal garbage and recycling trucks; construction vehicles; delivery trucks; and, boats and trains.
New Laws in New England Promote Cleaner Energy Systems and Lower Costs
Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island passed laws that make unprecedented changes in the way they buy energy and that put states on track to make deep cuts in carbon emissions. In June, Connecticut and Maine adopted new energy planning approaches based on the model of procuring all cost-effective efficiency and stakeholder oversight that Rhode Island adopted last year. All three states also officially joined the regional cap and trade program, RGGI, and adopted rules that will dedicate proceeds from the sale of carbon allowances to efficiency investments. For more details on these historic reforms, see the June 18th email update or follow the link below to ENE's energy page.
Governors and Premiers Adopt Climate and Energy Policies at Annual Meeting
ENE was among the official delegates on hand to congratulate the regional leaders at the 31st annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers on their exciting new climate resolution. Resolution 31-1 adopts a suite of high priority recommendations that will make historic advances in climate change and energy policy in the Northeast. The policies were developed over the past year with input from ENE and other experts and stakeholders from the region; adopting them is an important step toward meeting the climate and energy goals set by governors and premiers in 2001. Priorities include ensuring that efficiency is treated as a resource on equal footing with supply, adopting an Energy Performance Standard for new buildings, and adopting clean car standards.
Exploring Carbon Offsets
On June 27th, Environment Northeast helped organize a conference in Augusta, hosted by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. The conference, "Fighting Climate Change with Carbon Offsets: What is the role for forestland in New England?" brought together numerous participants from the forest industry and environmental groups. ENE Executive Director Dan Sosland made a presentation on the importance of forests in regional climate action plans, and discussed emerging offset rules in New England and beyond. Alec Giffen, director of the Maine Forest Service, presented the results of a collaborative research project with ENE, which modeled the carbon benefits of several different forest management regimes. The conference received enthusiastic reviews and highlighted the continued importance of our forestry work as part of the region's climate change strategy.
