Massachusetts’s coastal New England location makes it particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including more severe storms and rising sea levels. That makes it all the more important to seek a Green New Deal for Massachusetts that includes a transition away from fossil fuels and towards 100% clean and renewable energy.

The Commonwealth took a major step forward when, in March 2021 it passed the Next-Generation Climate Roadmap. This landmark legislation sets a net-zero target of 2050, strengthens building codes, increases access to renewable energy, invests millions of dollars annually in energy efficiency, and for the first time, defines and promotes Environmental Justice. (The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has an excellent summary of the bill.)

Representative Owens serves on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, which is working to implement green technologies like wind and solar power and high-capacity battery storage, as well as the House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change.

Additionally, by making critical investments in transportation and infrastructure, the state can empower labor unions and workers by creating good, high-paying jobs building green facilities, retrofitting the state’s existing housing stock, and encouraging the installation of solar panels on residential and commercial buildings.

It is equally crucial that this initiative pursue environmental justice in order to counteract the effects of both climate change and pollution that have disproportionately affected low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.