| The importance of state legislative races is often lost in the hype surrounding national midterm elections. Even when focused on, it can be hard to determine the policies that play a defining role in legislative elections at the state level. As a policy, carbon pricing has largely overcome this apathy, emerging as a winning issue among those running in competitive and open districts across Massachusetts.
In a year where Democrats were expected to increase control in the state legislature, these first-year lawmakers will shape the direction of climate policy for at least the next decade.
Near universal consensus formed among these newcomers around the need for state leadership on climate policy, a theme even incumbents tapped into. We talked to a number of these victorious representatives and senators, including Sen.-elect Jo Comerford, (D-Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester), about why they supported carbon pricing during the campaign, and their support for the policy in the net session.
“Right now, Massachusetts spends upwards of $20 billion annually to import fossil fuels. We need to begin creating dis-incentives for that behavior while incentivizing our shift to clean energy,” Comerford said. “A carbon price can do this while investing into renewable energy infrastructure, green job training programs, and back to local communities that need it most.”
A $40 per ton carbon price in Massachusetts would create between 12,000 and 18,000 jobs in the state, and add $600 million to the gross state product, according to economic research from Climate XChange. Massachusetts currently sends $20 billion out of state to pay energy producers in places such as Texas, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Economic and job growth result primarily from money staying in the state and being spent by consumers and businesses
A Harvard study published this year revealed close to $2.9 billion in cumulative health benefits between 2017 and 2040 if Massachusetts implemented a statewide carbon price. The study also said that a carbon price would save hundreds of lives as a result of a reduction in pollutants released into the air from burning fossil fuels.
Carbon pricing is not the silver bullet that will reverse climate change, but it is the best solution yet in meaningfully tackling carbon pollution.
During the 2017-2018 legislative session, two major carbon pricing bills were introduced in the House and the Senate by Rep. Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) and Sen. Michael Barrett (D-Lexington), respectively. The Senate unanimously passed an omnibus climate bill that included carbon pollution pricing, but the bill did not advance into law due to hesitancy from House leadership.
The momentum carbon pricing gained last session, combined with the energy surrounding the policy during the past legislative campaign season, creates strong potential for action in the Statehouse this session on the issue.
Tim Cronin is a policy associate with the Climate Action Business Association. This column has been edited for space constraints; the complete version can be seen on climate-xchange.org.
