Reforming PUC and state agency mandates is key for advancing equity and climate policy
Northeastern states have committed to significant economy-wide cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But despite these goals, most states have not empowered the agencies that play an outsized role in carbon emissions to prioritize climate, equity, and environmental justice in their decision-making. States’ commitments to climate and equity are just pretty words if they do not have a mechanism to make them binding and real. To achieve our climate goals, all government agencies should be required to prioritize climate change impacts and equity in their decisions.
Acadia Center wrote recently on the importance of reforming PUC and state agency mandates to better align with climate and equity goals. Since then, we have been a part of several notable mandate reform successes across the region.
In June 2021, Maine Governor Mills signed LD 1682, An Act To Require Consideration of Climate Impacts by the Public Utilities Commission and To Incorporate Equity Considerations in Decision-making by State Agencies. The Maine PUC is now mandated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the state’s climate targets and to prioritize climate alongside its other responsibilities. In addition, LD 1682 opens the door for all state agencies to address equity concerns in environmental justice, frontline, and other vulnerable communities that are disproportionately burdened by current energy policies by requiring a stakeholder process to develop guidelines for how state agencies should include equity considerations in their decision-making. Acadia Center played a key role in ensuring the passage of LD 1682 and will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that all agencies consider equity in their regulatory and programmatic decisions.
In addition, in March 2021 Massachusetts Governor Baker signed a landmark climate bill (S.9) that achieves key mandate reform goals. The bill went into effect in June and requires the state’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to consider equity and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as equal priorities to reliability, safety, and affordability. The bill will serve as a critical tool in empowering the DPU to act in alignment with the state’s climate goals.
By reforming agencies’ mandates, states can empower the entities that play a key role in emissions and equity outcomes to be partners in meeting state policy priorities. Instead of choosing the cheapest solution in the moment, agencies will be positioned to choose the best solution for both today and tomorrow’s consumers and environment.
Click here to read more about the role of the PUC and state agency mandate reform in supporting progress on climate and equity policy.
Summer Legislative Update: Massachusetts
Only 6 months into the marathon 2021-2022 legislative session, Massachusetts has already passed landmark climate legislation. Among other things, the Next Generation Climate Roadmap law updates the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas reduction requirements to 50% reductions by 2030 and net zero by 2050, codifies definitions for “environmental justice population” and “environmental justice principles,” and allows the state to procure an additional 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind. Crucially, the legislation also updates the mandate for the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), requiring the department to give equal weight to equity, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, security, and safety, in addition to its traditional focus on affordability and reliability. It also requires the development of sector-specific emissions targets, legislates the development of a new opt-in municipal stretch energy code, and sets energy efficiency standards for household appliances. Acadia Center played a key role in the enactment of this legislation, providing tireless advocacy and continuing to hold the legislature’s and Governor’s feet to the fire.
Despite this significant victory, Acadia Center’s work continues. In addition to the just and equitable implementation of the climate legislation, significant work remains to be done in the electric, transportation, and building sectors. To that end, Acadia Center is employing its policy expertise and coalition leadership, specifically with the ACES coalition, to prepare analysis and testimony for a host of bills that would rapidly electrify our transportation and building infrastructure and drastically cut emissions. Legislation that Acadia Center has drafted and filed (by Senator Joanne Comerford and Representative Natalie Blais) would create a stakeholder council like the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council to guide grid modernization and the transition away from natural gas (S.2144/H.3261) and eliminate the automatic ‘bonuses’ approved for electric utilities by the DPU in recent years (S.2143/H.3259). Acadia Center has also been deeply involved in the development of legislation that would implement the Transportation & Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) with a greater focus on environmental justice, directing at least 70% of TCI-P proceeds towards investments in communities that suffer disproportionately from transportation pollution or lack access to mobility options. Environmental justice legislation has been a particular focus for Acadia Center, and the organization is also promoting legislation that would expand air quality monitoring in pollution hotspots.
Acadia Center’s work goes far beyond just focusing on legislation as well. While legislative approval is not required in Massachusetts for the implementation of TCI-P, Acadia Center endeavors to ensure that the program is implemented with an eye toward environmental justice. The organization continues to lead on the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, crafting detailed analysis and policy recommendations for the Commonwealth’s 2022-2024 three-year energy efficiency plan. Finally, Acadia Center is actively monitoring and participating in several dockets at the Department of Public Utilities that impact crucial questions facing the Commonwealth, such as the role of natural gas in its energy transition, and implementing modernization plans for the electric grid. We are also actively involved in the New England Governors’ Energy Vision process, led by Massachusetts, which is seeking to reform the governance of ISO-New England.
Summer Legislative Update: Rhode Island
Acadia Center’s leadership on climate, energy, and equity issues was on full display during Rhode Island’s 2021 regular General Assembly session, as we testified remotely at dozens of hearings and working with legislators to refine and advance key pieces of legislation.
Acadia Center worked with its partners in the Climate Crisis Campaign and Climate Jobs RI coalition to advance the historic Act on Climate into law, Acadia Center’s top legislative priority in Rhode Island. The Act on Climate transforms previously aspirational climate goals into meaningful and enforceable greenhouse gas reduction mandates—45% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and net-zero by 2050. After years of work building legislative support, Acadia Center was able to combat a last-minute stream of fossil-fuel industry backed disinformation. Acadia Center’s Rhode Island Director, Hank Webster, engaged directly with print journalists, talk radio hosts, and concerned legislators to disprove unfounded claims about climate action and the legislation’s impact. Acadia Center is now spearheading efforts to work with the McKee Administration to develop an updated state climate plan by December 2022.
Building on the success of the Act on Climate, Acadia Center is the lead organization working to advance the regional, bipartisan, Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) in Rhode Island. Acadia Center helped legislators develop S872 and H6310, the TEAM Community Act which will codify the state’s involvement in the TCI-P. The Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation in June and Acadia Center is urging House leaders to address the policy in an anticipated special fall legislative session. To support TCI-P, Acadia Center convenes advocates and businesses for biweekly strategy calls and developed a Rhode Island-specific microsite, www.TCI4RI.com, to help key stakeholders stay apprised of the benefits of the program.
Throughout the pandemic-truncated 2020 and full 2021 legislative sessions, Acadia Center also worked to successfully advance two key energy efficiency bills—1) an extension of the state’s energy efficiency programs and 2) an update to the state’s appliance energy efficiency standards. In the waning hours of the 2021 regular session, Acadia Center testified before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee to oppose a dangerous last-minute rewrite of the energy efficiency extension bill and to instead support a plain extension of the energy efficiency programs. Those efforts were successful and, as a result, the state’s nation-leading energy efficiency programs are protected through 2028. Acadia Center and colleague organizations also successfully advanced a law that sets minimum energy efficiency standards for appliances sold in the state and protects consumers from unknowingly buying and installing energy-wasting versions of everyday products. This update will reduce carbon emissions by 256,000 metric tons and lower utility bills by $10 million annually.
Acadia Center will be busy this summer, working with RI policymakers to advance a robust clean energy and environmental justice agenda in the anticipated fall legislative session, including: the TEAM Community Act to implement the TCI-P, legislation to adopt a 100% Renewable Energy Standard by 2030, and the Environmental Justice Act to better protect affected communities from new activities that increase cumulative impacts.
Summer Legislative Update: Connecticut
Acadia Center’s high hopes for the 2021 legislative session continue, as we prepare for the two upcoming special legislative sessions in July and September that will decide the outcome of critical pieces of legislation. Our top priority continues to be the passage of legislation to implement the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), which will be discussed again in September. TCI failed to pass in the last weeks of the session that ended in early June, which was a surprise and a major disappointment.
The TCI bill (SB 884) would have been the most important climate legislation of the past decade. The TCI Program is projected to be a source of economic growth, new jobs, and cleaner air, and the extensive modeling of its impact predicts $360 million in annual health benefits regionally by 2032. A critical companion bill, SB 931, would have directed Connecticut to study the energy, environmental, and air quality impacts of adopting California’s medium and heavy- duty vehicle standards. Acadia Center has convened and developed the CT Transportation Climate Initiative Coalition over the last two years, which is made up of over 35 organizations and individuals. The coalition was especially successful at creating united messaging focused on equity, environmental justice, health, air pollution, economic development and jobs.
With a Democratic majority in the House and Senate and a Democratic governor, Acadia Center and all advocates had every reason to believe we were in a strong position to win. However, TCI was a victim of last-minute political horsetrading, as some senators made the passage of TCI conditional on supporting their other favored pieces of legislation, leading to a stalemate between Governor Lamont and the Senate leadership. However, Matt Ritter, Connecticut’s Speaker of the House, has promised to discuss TCI again in the special session.
Despite these setbacks, our other two priority bills did manage to pass in regular session. SB 356, establishes an energy efficiency retrofit grant program specifically for affordable housing, and the legislature has allocated seven million dollars to implementing the program over the first three years through the American Rescue Package Act. Acadia Center had been advocating for progress on these retrofits for years; an estimated 23% of housing had previously been ineligible for state efficiency programs because of issues such as lead and asbestos removal and remediation, which needed to be addressed before going forward with efficiency upgrades (these issues are collectively referred to as “health and safety barriers”). SB 952 stimulates the energy storage and clean tech industry, by establishing energy storage goals of 300 megawatts by 2024, 650 MW by 2027, and 1,000 MW by 2030, and directing CT Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to support energy storage through their efforts.
The move to pass TCI continues this summer with the coalition intact and the strategy to win evolving as the lessons learned take hold. The successful passage of energy efficiency in affordable housing and the storage bills will also install needed climate and energy policies.
The current strategy is to lobby the decision makers in July in person (now that pandemic restrictions are being lifted) to ramp up their understanding of TCI for the September session. All eyes are now on Connecticut!
Summer Legislative Update: Maine
After the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted the 2020 legislative session, the 130th Maine Legislature roared back to life in 2021 and had one of the “most productive environmental and energy legislatures in more than 30 years!” according to one veteran of Maine’s environmental advocacy community. Acadia Center was at the center of the session, testifying on 25 bills, supporting new PUC Commissioner Patrick Scully, engaging in dozens of strategy meetings, and achieving key victories across the buildings, power, and transportation sectors. For example, Acadia Center conceived and led successful passage of legislation that requires the Maine Public Utilities Commission to include achieving the state greenhouse gas reduction targets as a primary mission. The bill also opens the door for state agencies to take actions that consider equity and environmental justice goals in all state policy, programmatic, and regulatory decisions.
Acadia Center was a lead actor in the Maine Climate Council by developing recommendations to reduce emissions and address the impacts of climate change on residents, communities, industries, forests and ecosystems. We worked to implement Climate Action Plan goals like eliminating HFCs, promoting offshore wind, setting appliance standards, and increasing weatherization funding. We made a data-driven case to expand electrification for building heating and transportation. Acadia Center worked to advance bills to incentive renewables, energy storage, microgrids, and other non-wires alternatives in Maine’s electricity grid.
Acadia Center deployed its analytic, policy expertise and coalition partnerships to advance its goals, including prioritizing Climate Action Plan strategies and using our research and analyses to make the case to policymakers. We served on the Steering Committee and on the Leadership Team of Climate Maine, a broad-based coalition to support strong Maine state climate action and the legislative steps necessary to implement. Acadia Center elevated our PUC reform bill as one of four priorities by the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition and steered advocacy to passage in the Legislature. Acadia Center earned media in the Portland Press Herald, Maine Public Radio and other outlets and placed op-eds on transportation, utility and regulatory reform, and building heating.
Even with the legislature wrapping up in July, our work is not finished. Acadia Center will be actively involved in the process for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) to begin incorporating equity considerations in decision making at the Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utilities Commission and other state agencies, including defining key terms like “environmental justice,” “environmental justice populations,” and “frontline communities.” The Legislature and Administration will also grapple with building codes for new construction, transportation emissions, energy efficiency, and other issues. Acadia Center will prioritize and engage accordingly.
Efforts to pursue climate goals in Mass. clash with incentives offered that promote fossil fuels
Massachusetts has ambitious climate goals, and not a lot of time to achieve them, which has some clean energy and climate experts questioning why a state program continues to promote fossil fuels with cash incentives for oil and gas home heating systems.
The state’s climate plan demands that 1 million households be converted from fossil fuels to electric heat by the end of the decade, part of a sweeping transition meant to help stave off the worst of climate change’s consequences. And yet the state’s only incentive program, and its best tool for helping convince businesses and homeowners to make that switch, is sticking with rebates for new carbon-emitting systems likely to remain in service long past that deadline.
The program, Mass Save, is run by utility companies with oversight by the state, and hands out between $640 million and $700 million a year in rebates that are funded by a surcharge on utility customers’ bills. It is credited with successfully reducing carbon emissions from home heating across Massachusetts since its inception in 2008. But in the past, those cuts have come largely by encouraging conversions from oil to gas, a less-dirty fossil fuel that the state plans to phase out.
However, in a set of proposed new incentives that would take effect next year, Mass Save is again planning substantial incentives to install gas systems and, in some instances, oil. And at a time when record-breaking heatwaves are scorching the country and the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is at an all-time high, experts said incentives must now move sharply in the other direction.
….
Mass Save’s latest proposed incentives are being reviewed by the program’s advisory council, a governing body that includes representatives from clean energy groups, the attorney general’s office, housing organizations, and more, and engages in months of negotiations with the utilities over their proposed plans. The advisory council will vote on the plan. In years past it has approved incentive plans put forward by the utility companies with little or no dissent. But this year, it is hoping for major changes, said Amy Boyd, a council member.
She said the council will ask the utilities to move further away from fossil fuels and do more to incentivize the transition to heat pumps.
She said it will also push to make the new Mass Save offering more appealing to low- and middle-income consumers. In the past, Mass Save has been primarily used by those in wealthier communities, where usage can be seven times higher than in less affluent towns.
The state Department of Public Utilities will have final say on the plan in January 2022.
Read the full article in the Boston Globe here
With new climate responsibility, PUC can pick best, not just cheapest, solutions for Maine
Few state agencies have more impact on more Mainers’ daily lives than the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The Maine PUC regulates electric, gas, and water utilities’ rates and services and provides oversight to monopolies Central Maine Power and Versant Power, which collectively serve more than 795,000 electricity customers over 22,000 square miles from Fort Kent to Kittery.
Due to outdated laws that defined the foundation on which it makes decisions, the PUC was charged with keeping rates low, ensuring reliable supply of electricity, and allowing utilities to earn a profit on their businesses. That’s it!
Those three responsibilities, while important, did not fully capture the role utility regulators can play in addressing climate change. If a clean energy investment would increase rates in the short term or cut utility profits, the PUC may be required to reject it, even if the investment benefits Maine people through lower, less volatile long-term rates, cleaner air, and better access to clean energy resources.
The Maine Legislature enacted, and the governor signed a bill to add “climate” to the PUC’s responsibilities, empowering the agency to make decisions that support greenhouse gas emission reductions as part of its primary mission. LD 1682 also opens the door for all state agencies — not just the PUC — to address equity concerns in environmental justice, frontline, and other vulnerable communities that are underserved or overburdened by current energy policies, programs and systems due to geography, race, income or other socioeconomic factors.
The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future is charged with evaluating how to incorporate equity considerations across state government actions and report back to the Legislature in February 2022, followed by a new bill to implement its findings.
The decisions that state government makes today will create the building stock, transportation systems, and electricity infrastructure of 2030, 2050 and beyond. State agencies must prioritize climate now and create efficient buildings and electrified transportation, powered by clean, renewable energy. LD 1682 gives the PUC the tools to do so and sets Maine on a course to do it equitably for all.
The timing of this change fits well with Gov. Janet Mills’ pick of a seasoned energy attorney with the depth to fill a commissioner seat and help push the PUC into the future. The massive capital and planning necessary to transform buildings, transportation, and the electricity grid over the next three decades necessitates a deep understanding of the PUC’s capabilities and limitations to make it happen.
Commissioner Patrick Scully joins a PUC on the cusp of an energy transition, that will be called upon to expand heating and transportation electrification; increase clean energy generation, storage, and delivery of offshore wind, solar, and other renewables; and oversee innovative utility innovation and grid modernization.
Not all strategies are created equal, and the PUC will want to focus on those that deliver the biggest bang for ratepayers’ bucks. PUC commissioners, and eventually all of state government, will need to appropriately value pollution reductions, climate impacts, public health, job creation, improved reliability, and other costs and benefits while eliminating wasteful spending and stranded costs for fossil-fuel infrastructure inconsistent with climate actions.
If another bill that would replace Maine’s two investor-owned utilities with a community-owned utility is enacted, the PUC will need to help the new entity plan, accelerate, and achieve electrification of the entire state to meet our climate targets as rapidly, reliably, equitably, and affordably as possible.
If Maine follows its climate action plan and electrifies its economy — homes, businesses, and vehicles — with a clean, renewable, decarbonized electricity grid, the PUC and whatever utilities are left standing must consider climate and equity in all planning and regulatory decisions. Instead of choosing the cheapest solution in the moment, the PUC can choose the best solution for today and tomorrow’s ratepayers and require utilities to provide more innovative services to address one of the greatest crises of our time.
Jeff Marks is Maine director and senior policy advocate for the Acadia Center, a research and advocacy organization based in Rockport, ME.
Read the article in the Bangor Daily News here
Opinion: Stop sweetheart deals with state utilities
Electrifying buildings and appliances that now run on gas, oil, and other fossil fuels will be a key piece of meeting Massachusetts’ climate targets. The region’s investor-owned utilities will be vital partners in making this possible. However, it has recently come to light that Eversource has been quietly funding a campaign to fight against electrification and in support of propping up the gas system, despite the fact that the region must transition away from gas as quickly as possible.
One of the primary reasons utilities like Eversource continue to fight so hard for fossil fuels is because the current utility business model, which has helped deliver reliable energy for almost a century, is no longer compatible with the transformations within the power sector that are necessary to address climate change.
Today, utilities earn income based not on how well they serve residents, but on how expensive it is to run their companies. As expenses for maintaining the grid go up, utilities regularly ask the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for approval to increase customer rates to help cover costs. Regulators usually approve these requests – and as legislators we hear frequently from constituents when they notice these new or increased charges on their electric bills and want to know what they are paying for and why.
Automatically increasing customer rates without requiring real change is not the answer. Massachusetts needs a better deal from its utilities – a real commitment to consumer interests, environmental justice, fighting climate change, and creating a reliable grid powered by clean energy resources.
Since 2018, Eversource has received an additional $95 million in revenue from cost increases to Massachusetts residents – without any requirement that the utility give them any additional benefits in return. This windfall is the result of a decision that the DPU made in 2017 that allowed Eversource to automatically increase customer rates each year using a tool called the “Performance Based Ratemaking Mechanism,” a misnomer that does not actually tie Eversource’s compensation to its performance or to benefits for customers.
The DPU then approved a similar deal for National Grid in 2019. The only thing Massachusetts ratepayers have received from these decisions is a bigger bill in their mailbox each month.
Under existing state utility regulation, Eversource’s incentives do not serve the interests of the Commonwealth’s residents. Eversource’s own securities filings identify that clean energy alternatives are a risk to its revenues. In other words, the path the Commonwealth is seeking to shift away from fossil fuels is bad for Eversource and its shareholders. This is incongruous with meeting Massachusetts’ ambitious climate goals.
We cannot continue to put the financial health of utility companies on the backs of ratepayers by providing annual revenue increases with little in return for residents or the environment. That’s why we introduced “An Act to Protect Ratepayers” (Bill H.3259/S.2143) and “An Act Promoting Local Energy Investment and Infrastructure Modernization” (Bill H.3261/S.2144). These bills will stop sweetheart deals and ensure broader stakeholder participation in decisions related to modernizing our energy system.
For years, Eversource and National Grid have faced growing expenses as a result of delays to the maintenance of the aging grid infrastructure, the cost of increasingly damaging storms, as well as the need to invest more to improve the reliability and resiliency of the grid. As these expenses have added up, Eversource and National Grid have argued that they are becoming less productive every year and, therefore, should receive an automatic revenue increase to make up for their expected financial shortfall.
For any normal business, if expenses exceed revenues, the company would attempt to lower costs, find new sources of income, or both – or go out of business. But because investor-owned utilities are granted an exclusive right to operate as a monopoly (in exchange for government oversight), residents can be unknowingly on the hook for bailing a utility out, without requiring the utility to solve its own financial problems. Under the utility’s monopoly, residents are stuck with little or no option except to pay.
The result in Eversource’s case has been a roughly 3 percent revenue increase every year without requiring any improvements in performance. This provides no incentive for the utility to solve its productivity problem. At the same time, the DPU has allowed a proceeding to consider actual performance metrics for Eversource languish since 2018. Not to mention the fact that Eversource and National Grid already earn a guaranteed return on equity that is much higher than the average in New England. All of this has raised costs for residents without providing anything in return.
In contrast, regulators in Hawaii recently rejected similar arguments from utilities around the need for automatic rate increases because of declining productivity, emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the Massachusetts decision.
Our bills will make sure the decisions that have cost residents in Massachusetts millions of dollars do not happen again. We deserve a better deal. It’s time to align utility financial incentives with climate, environmental justice, and clean energy goals.
Natalie Blais is the state representative from Sunderland, Joanne Comerford is the state senator from Northampton, and Daniel Sosland is the president of the Acadia Center, an environmental advocacy organization.
Read the full article in CommonWealth Magazine here
Acadia Center Applauds Rhode Island Senate for Passing Transportation Emissions and Mobile (TEAM) Community Act, Calls on House and Neighboring Legislatures to Follow
PROVIDENCE— Today, Rhode Island senators voted to pass S0872, the Transportation Emissions and Mobile (TEAM) Community Act, to implement the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) in Rhode Island. TCI-P is a bipartisan agreement between the neighboring states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as the District of Columbia, which aims to cut transportation pollution by 26% between 2022-2032. The program is expected to generate approximately $250 million over 10 years for Rhode Island to invest in equitable, less-polluting transportation options—investments that will create local jobs and deliver public health benefits of approximately $100 million annually.
“Acadia Center thanks the Rhode Island Senate for advancing this critical legislation. Rhode Island has been at the forefront of the regional and bipartisan negotiations to develop the TCI Program for years and this legislation enshrines important commitments to improve public health, combat the climate crisis, center environmental justice voices in transportation decisions, and provide better mobility options for all Rhode Islanders,” said Hank Webster, Acadia Center’s Rhode Island Director. “The Rhode Island House of Representatives now has the opportunity—and responsibility—to advance the companion bill, H6310, which will ensure that Rhode Island communities receive the investment, new jobs, and cleaner air they deserve.”
Transportation is Rhode Island’s largest source of air pollution, creating nearly 40% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Harmful tailpipe pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter disproportionately impact the health of densely populated neighborhoods where major roadways, highways, and ports have been located. In Rhode Island, as in other states, the communities overburdened by air pollution are predominately Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color which have historically lacked representation and decision-making power in transportation planning. The TEAM Community Act and TCI-P will take an important first step to address these systemic injustices by establishing an Equity Advisory Board composed of the state’s Health Equity Zones and members of overburdened and underserved communities. The TEAM Community Act also commits a minimum of 35% of TCI-P proceeds for targeted investments that reduce pollution in local communities most impacted by transportation pollution.
Legislators in Connecticut and Massachusetts also have the opportunity to pass legislation that will guide the equitable implementation of TCI-P in their states. Legislators in Connecticut will have another chance to pass Governor Lamont’s TCI-P implementation bill through a fall special session of the Connecticut legislature. In Massachusetts, where Governor Baker already has the authority to implement TCI-P, S.2138/H.3264 would direct at least 70% of TCI-P proceeds to overburdened and underserved communities throughout the Commonwealth.
“By passing legislation to guide the equitable implementation of TCI-P, legislators in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts have the opportunity to deliver climate action at a major scale while delivering policy solutions designed to meet local community needs,” said Jordan Stutt, Acadia Center’s Carbon Programs Director. “While an equitably designed TCI program should benefit overburdened and underserved communities, TCI-P is just one tool in the toolbox; other actions will still be necessary to deliver transportation justice. We know through polling and past ballot initiatives that Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support investments in clean transportation and we need to make sure all communities enjoy the benefits of better, healthier mobility options.”
Media Contacts
Rhode Island:
Hank Webster, Rhode Island Director & Staff Attorney
hwebster@acadiacenter.org, 401-239-8500
Regional:
Jordan Stutt, Carbon Programs Director
jstutt@acadiacenter.org, 845-702-5217
###
Acadia Center is a regionally focused non-profit organization headquartered in Rockport, Maine, working to advance a clean energy future that benefits all.
Environmental Advocates React to Connecticut’s Failure to Pass Regional Climate Agreement
Listen to the full segment here
Follow us