FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                               Contact: Natalia Pelayo

August 20, 2008                                                                                       617-722-1551

NATIONAL, STATE LEADERS LAUD NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS ; HIGHLIGHT BENEFITS OF GREEN ECONOMY FOR MASSACHUSETTS

Boston , MA —During an energy summit hosted by State Senator Marc R. Pacheco (D-Taunton) at Bridgewater State College, national and state leaders commended the Massachusetts Legislature for enacting into law five bills that would make the Commonwealth a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

 Senator Pacheco and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, hailed the energy summit as a first-of-its-kind event providing communities with information about the Commonwealth’s most recent environmental laws. The new environmental laws enacted during the 2008 legislative session include the Global Warming Solutions Act, Biofuels Act, Oceans Act, Green Jobs Bill, and the Energy Bill.

 “The Commonwealth is set to reduce its carbon emissions, preserve its natural resources and secure a competitive edge in the green economy,” said Senator Pacheco, chief sponsor of the Global Warming Solutions Act. “As we look toward the future, it’s important that communities have access to understanding the benefits and challenges during the implementation process of these new initiatives.”

 Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles highlighted the issue of soaring energy costs throughout the nation and the need for Massachusetts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. He mentioned that California and other states have passed similar carbon cap legislation, but stated that the standards in the Global Warming Solutions Act are “the most stringent and the most flexible” in the country and that “means Massachusetts is leaping over all the other scores of states that want to be a leader in that regard.”  

During his speech, Secretary Bowles also said that energy efficiency gives the Commonwealth a larger economic opportunity and referred to the overwhelming success of EnerNOC, a developer of clean energy solutions. “We will see more of that in Massachusetts in the days ahead,” said Secretary Bowles.

 Nick d’Arbeloff, Executive Director, New England Clean Energy Council, said Massachusetts should focus on other energy sources such as solar and wind--an excellent source in Maine and Cape Cod . He said that 57 percent of all the solar panels worldwide are in Germany and only 7 percent of installed solar panels are in the United States .

 The keynote speech was delivered by United States Senator John F. Kerry who said, “We have big energy choices in front of us, and energy efficiency should be the first thing we do.”

 In the absence of federal climate change legislation, states across the nation have been taking the lead on this issue. Senator Kerry lauded Massachusetts and Senator Pacheco for being “ahead of the curve on this issue,” and said he was confident that with a new administration “we will pass global warming and climate change legislation on the national level.”

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