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It's time for us to stop passing the buck. It's time for us to push for what we want and what we need. Dangerous climate disruption is threatening our health, our economy, our shorelines, and our ecosystems. We know what we have to do to stop those threats.
With the momentum of the recent global commitments reached in Paris, our legislative agenda for Maryland reflects climate science and gives us the best opportunity to deploy truly clean energy across the state and region.
We have three climate and energy-focused legislative goals to set us on a path for the future we want for ourselves and our children:
- Set a science-based long-term climate goal for Maryland by renewing and strengthening the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act (GGRA).
- Increase Maryland's renewable energy goal to 25% by 2020, and increase the amount set aside for solar energy.
- Reserve our renewable energy incentives for clean energy only - and close the dirty energy loophole that incentivizes incineration and clogs additional clean energy growth.
Yes, these are ambitious goals, but they are exactly what we need to tackle unsafe pollution and climate change head-on. Please take the time to read about each issue and sign our petition. We will be in touch soon about how you can help during the 2016 Maryland Legislative Session, which starts January 13.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act is the bedrock upon which our other bills are built. We're on track to meet our goal of 25% greenhouse gas reductions by 2020 while simultaneously strengthening our economy and creating jobs. Originally passed in 2009, the GGRA will expire at the end of 2016 unless the General Assembly acts to renew it. Therefore, in 2016, the Maryland General Assembly must maintain the progress against climate change and renew the GGRA's requirement that greenhouse gases be reduced by 25%. But that is only the first step. The GGRA must also be strengthened to achieve a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 - a goal unanimously endorsed by the Maryland Commission on Climate Change.
Maryland's renewable energy standard ("RPS" for "Renewable Portfolio Standard") was first passed in 2004 and is one of the leading programs of the state's plan to reduce climate pollution. It currently requires 20% renewable energy by 2022. But science tells us that is insufficient. Increasing the state's renewable electricity standard to 25% by 2020 is critical to protecting our climate, our health, and our economy. A 25% renewable electricity standard can create incentives for roughly 1,800 megawatts of new clean power in our region, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.7 million metric tons per year. That's the carbon equivalent of taking 563,000 passenger vehicles off the road every year!
And finally, we must close Maryland's dirty energy loophole. Maryland's RPS is clearly meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by growing clean energy sources like wind and solar energy. But today, over half the "renewable" energy receiving subsidies from our RPS comes from smokestack industries, not windmills or solar panels. We must remove these incentives for burning of trash, woody biomass (our forests), poultry litter, landfill gas, and paper mill waste. These dirty combustion sources, per unit of energy, can have climate and health impacts as bad as or worse than fossil fuels. They should not be competing with wind and solar power for the energy credits in the RPS. We need an RPS which is truly for clean energy; only then can it reach its full potential as one of the top tools to combat climate change and pollution.
Here at the Sierra Club we are proudly and loudly supporting all three of these very important legislative initiatives. Our reason is simple - we need all three of them to significantly reduce greenhouse gases to the levels scientists agree we need. Indeed, the state's official climate plan envisions both expansion and clean-up of the RPS. An increased RPS may indeed incentivize some dirty energy - but it will incentivize much more clean energy. And cleaning-up the RPS will indeed be a tough fight - but important goals are worth a tough fight.
We're putting it all out there this year, and because of that your help is even more crucial than ever. If you agree that we need an ambitious multi-pronged initiative in Maryland to combat climate change, click here to learn more, sign a petition, and tell us how else you can help. Trust us, we can plug you into this if you have 30 minutes or 10 hours to contribute. We have 14,000 members here in Maryland alone - let's do this.
Sincerely,
Dori Paster, Legislative Chair
Rich Reis, Energy Chair