Governor Hogan Signs Landmark Climate Bill Into Law

ANNAPOLIS — At a ceremony in Annapolis, Governor Larry Hogan signed the landmark Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act of 2016 into law. The bill re-authorizes a 2009 Maryland law that established a target of cutting Maryland’s climate pollution levels 25 percent by 2020. Further, it sets an ambitious 2030 target of cutting pollution by 40 percent. These targets follow directly from recommendations made by the Maryland Commission on Climate Change, made up of cabinet secretaries, legislators, non-profit organizations, local governments and businesses. The bill passed through the Maryland legislature with bipartisan support.

Travis Madsen, State Climate Campaign Director for Environment Maryland, issued the following statement:

“Maryland hit a home run today with this new law. By acting on climate, we are protecting our communities, our health, our children and our future.

Thank you to Governor Hogan for acting today. Thanks to the members of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change for standing unanimously behind this bold step forward. Thank you to Senator Paul Pinsky and Delegate Kumar Barve for sponsoring the legislation. And thank you to all of the Marylanders who spoke up and asked for action on climate.

With this ambitious target now officially in place, our focus must now turn towards concrete actions to reduce global warming pollution. Those steps should include accelerating our transition to clean, renewable energy; developing our offshore wind energy resources; boosting energy efficiency; deploying more electric vehicles, and increasing zero-emission transportation options.

Finally, Maryland should support strengthening the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an important regional program to reduce pollution from power plants. Cutting emissions by more than half by 2030 will help us get on course to achieve the ambitious goal that Governor Hogan signed into law today."