Policy into Power: How Sunrise Boston is speaking up at the State House
As members of the Sunrise Movement, we leverage people power into political power to fight the climate crisis. Using outside agitation for inside change, the Boston Sunrise hub mobilized in 2020 to elect Erika Uyterhoeven, an outsider and fellow organizer, to the Massachusetts State House. With Erika as a resource, we had more leverage in the State House than ever before. So we decided to do something brand new to us in Sunrise Boston: write a bill.
As we drafted legislation, we imagined living in a world where our futures feel secure, where our government is accountable to us and not fossil fuel corporations, and where we center frontline communities, especially Black and brown communities and the workers most impacted by the climate crisis. This is the vision that inspired us to write and submit legislation with Erika. Our bill, An Act Investing in a Prosperous, Clean Commonwealth by 2030 (IPCC 2030 for short), was filed in the Massachusetts State House in February 2020, marking a new stage in our fight for climate action.
With the bill filed (and more than a dozen co-sponsors as of June 1) we are now building a grassroots movement with people across the Commonwealth to ensure our elected officials take the climate crisis seriously and act appropriately.
What’s At Stake
Earlier this year, Massachusetts legislators voted to pass a different climate bill, which was the most consequential climate change legislation in the Commonwealth in 13 years. While the legislation moves Massachusetts in the right direction on climate action, it fails to adequately address the urgency of the climate crisis and the economy-wide transformation needed to avoid potentially catastrophic impacts to our planet. It also leaves targets open for interpretation and vulnerable to the whims of new governors. We have to do better.
Our IPCC 2030 bill articulates a vision in line with our movement’s values and brings that vision straight to the halls of power in Massachusetts. If passed into law, the bill will ensure Sunrise’s values will be embedded within Massachusetts’ legal system, providing a framework for a safer, greener, and more just future.
What’s standing between us and that vision? To put it bluntly: state politicians who will vote on our future. We have given our elected officials a mandate to stop climate change; with this bill as a vehicle, we will ensure they act on our mandate. We are already behind on climate action, and we have too much to lose to stop now.
What’s In the Bill
How will the IPCC 2030 bill impact Massachusetts? To find out, let’s take a look at the bill’s five pillars, each of which adds an important piece to the climate action puzzle.
The first pillar is about statewide decarbonization and ensuring our Commonwealth does its fair share by requiring negative emissions by 2050. The next three pillars tackle the three largest sources of current emissions: the transportation, building, and electricity sectors. The fifth and final pillar is about environmental justice and a just transition away from fossil fuels. As environmental justice is critical to all climate action, it has a strong presence throughout the entire bill.
State Decarbonization and Negative Emissions
The IPCC 2030 bill tackles statewide emissions with aggressive decarbonization targets that encompass all emissions, from all places. Specifically, the bill sets targets of net zero energy by 2030 (verified carbon offsets allowed) and zero carbon by 2040 (carbon offsets not allowed). Prior net zero timelines set in Massachusetts don’t specify what net zero means, or what counts as a carbon offset. Our bill sets a standard of accountability by defining those concepts and eliminating the possibility of malicious compliance from the executive branch.
By 2050, the bill requires that Massachusetts reduce emissions by 110% compared to 1990. In other words, the Commonwealth will eventually remove carbon from the atmosphere, slowly reversing decades of climate inaction. If passed, Massachusetts would become the first state in the country to have a net negative emissions target.
Transportation
The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts is from the transportation sector, so addressing these emissions is critically important to overall decarbonization. The IPCC 2030 bill makes bold strides away from fossil fueled transit and towards zero-emissions travel. The centerpiece of these efforts: banning new sales of fossil fuel-powered cars and electrifying the MBTA bus fleet, commuter rail, and all municipal and state-owned fleets, all by 2030. Also in the bill are rebates for electric vehicle (EV) purchases and expansion of EV charging infrastructure.
Buildings
More than three out of four homes are heated by fossil fuels in Massachusetts, one of the highest rates in the country. This is bad news: in addition to emitting carbon, natural gas (the most common heating and cooking fuel) has been found to cause dangerous indoor air pollution and was responsible for several catastrophic explosions in the last few years. The IPCC 2030 bill establishes a net zero building code for new construction, which requires that buildings generate as much energy as they consume, usually with some form of renewable energy generation and energy efficient design. In addition, the bill includes provisions to retrofit all public housing to become net zero energy by 2030.
Electricity
A big part of decarbonizing the transportation and building sectors involves electrifying our homes and vehicles, which is why developing a clean electricity grid is so important. As electricity demand rises and renewable energy becomes even cheaper, the IPCC 2030 bill will ensure Massachusetts is powered by 100% renewable electricity, not increasingly expensive and polluting fossil fuels, by strengthening the state’s already existing Renewable Portfolio Standards.
In addition, the bill limits renewable energy sources to exclude biomass and polluting and fossil fuel technologies. In order to stimulate the massive investment in renewables necessary to meet these targets, the bill also requires the state to purchase 12,000 MW of new offshore wind and solar energy contracts.
Environmental Justice and a Just Transition
Treating people at the front-lines of the climate crisis with dignity and centering their perspectives and interests are important pieces of the IPCC 2030 bill. The bill ensures workers displaced by a transition from fossil fuels are prioritized for new, union jobs with equal or better pay and are provided with training programs required for those jobs.
Environmental justice priorities are also woven throughout the other four pillars to ensure that communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities will benefit from these policies. A couple of examples: the bill requires that the first electric buses and electrified commuter rails are established in environmental justice communities, and the bill mandates that at least 50% of new community solar capacity is credited to low income, environmental justice, or publicly assisted households.
What’s Next
Each of these five pillars contributes to a bill that is, at its core, a fundamental reimagining of what is possible when it comes to climate action in our Commonwealth. The IPCC 2030 bill is an articulation of what the science and our values demand: full decarbonization, environmental justice, good jobs for all, healthy skies and clean water, and a resilient, equitable, and just future.
Unfortunately, the bill is going to be a tough sell to some state politicians. The State House is plagued by entrenched interests and lobbyists, non-transparent processes, and an unwillingness to take the bold and necessary action required to ensure a secure and equitable future for the Commonwealth.
Despite these challenges, we believe we can use the IPCC 2030 Bill to both highlight the State House’s inaction and share a vision for a future where Massachusetts’ climate action is proportional to the severity of the climate crisis. We can tell a story, using the bill as a framework, of a Commonwealth where residents have access to clean air, water, and land; where our government is accountable to people and not fossil fuel interests; and where we can look forward to a secure, equitable, and just future.
If we do that, we can change the public’s baseline for acceptable climate action in Massachusetts and build our already powerful movement into one with even more people power to fight for the future we know can be realized.
What You Can Do
While our strategy is focused on changing the conversation around climate action in the state and inspiring others to join our movement, we also want to ensure that our representatives know what we want.
In the State House, co-sponsoring the IPCC 2030 bill is an easy way for our legislators to show their support. Asking your state representative and senator to co-sponsor the bill not only lets them know that it’s something you care about, it also makes the bill seem more powerful to other legislators. To send a letter urging your legislators to co-sponsor the IPCC 2030 bill, text SIGN PJNYKZ to 50409- it’s that easy. Stay tuned for opportunities to lobby your legislators directly!
If you want to be a part of the efforts to change the public conversation about Massachusetts’ response to the climate crisis, join our team! All that’s needed is enthusiasm and patience while we work through a project different then anything else we’ve done before.
The IPCC 2030 bill is legislation that would bring us much closer to stopping the climate crisis in Massachusetts. Whether it passes or not, it’s an articulation of our values in a form that allows us to highlight exactly who is fighting for us, and who is letting us down. This bill is a signpost for the future we want and a vision we all believe is worth fighting for.
If you want to join us in the fight for a better Massachusetts, reach out to smlarkin92@gmail.com or join the Sunrise Boston Political team here.
Written by Kendall Damon, Sabrina Larkin, Kyle Richmond-Crosset, and Zhei Xie
