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|a Rising to the Challenge |h [electronic resource] |b Assessing the Massachusetts Reponse to Climate Change. |
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|a [S.l.] : |b Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, |c 2012. |
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|a Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights. |
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|a On July 2, 2008 Governor Deval Patrick signed
the landmark Green Communities Act proclaiming:
“Climate change is the challenge of our times and
we in Massachusetts are rising to that challenge.”*
Massachusetts is indeed rising to the challenge,
but will we succeed in reaching the greenhouse gas
reduction targets we have committed to achieving?
This question is critical because Massachusetts
has much at stake. If global emissions are
not signifi cantly reduced, credible projections
suggest the state will face sea level rise of two to six
feet. Hundred-year fl oods will likely occur every
few years. Summers would bring 30 to 60 days
with temperatures over 90 degrees. These threats
can only be avoided if political entities around the
world do their part to reduce emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
In this spirit, Massachusetts has pledged
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent
from 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below
1990 levels by 2050. This report examines how
far along the state is with implementing climate
change actions to achieve these goals.
We place particular focus on the state’s trajectory
toward the 2020 target. By reaching this
interim goal, Massachusetts will show that signifi
cant greenhouse gas reduction is possible
and can infl uence others to take action.
With eight years remaining to cut emissions
25 percent, this is the moment to take stock of
our progress. Implementation is well underway,
but there is still time to make any necessary
adjustments to meet the 25 percent target.
While progress toward these targets provides
one frame for assessing the state’s response to
climate change, given the complexity of the challenge,
it is important to look more broadly as well.
The report examines other topics, such as the
state’s preparations for adapting to a changing
climate, the state’s leadership role nationally and
internationally, and the extent to which the state
is cost-effectively pursuing emissions reductions.
We present this comprehensive review of the
Massachusetts response in four sections:
• Section 1 provides a primer on the climate
change problem, the urgent need for state
and local action, and the policy response in
Massachusetts to date.
• Section 2 assesses the state’s comprehensive
response to climate change, answering
three key questions: Is the state on track to
meet its targets? Is the state successful in
the key realms of energy effi ciency, electricity
generation, transportation and land use,
and adaptation? And is the state playing a
leadership role?
• Section 3 compares the economic costs of
addressing climate change to the economic
benefi ts of the policies that the state is
implementing.
• Section 4 examines the achievements of local
climate change action in cities and towns
across the state. |
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|a Electronic reproduction. |c Florida International University, |d 2015. |f (dpSobek) |n Mode of access: World Wide Web. |n System requirements: Internet connectivity; Web browser software. |
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|a dpSobek |c Sea Level Rise |
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|u http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15052529/00001 |y Click here for full text |
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|a http://dpanther.fiu.edu/sobek/content/FI/15/05/25/29/00001/FI15052529_thm.jpg |
