CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (April 22, 2020)—Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker today officially established that the state will effectively emit no “net” global warming emissions by the year 2050, making the state the third to set a legally binding net zero target. The state will reduce its emissions by at least 85 percent by 2050—an emissions reduction commitment matched only by New York’s. The remainder of the state’s emissions will be captured through trees, wetlands and other “carbon sinks.”
Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists and a former Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection commissioner.
“It’s heartening to see that our state government can walk and chew gum at the same time. Governor Baker has rightly been focusing on the pandemic. But he knows that we have to flatten the curve on climate emissions as well, because this slower-moving crisis is also bearing down on us. I’m proud to see my state leading the way in addressing this challenge.”