Climate Partners Put Forward Vision for Climate Future
On October 15, Maryland Climate Partners submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for how the state should combat inequalities and meet Maryland’s ambitious pollution reduction mandates, as set out in the Climate Solutions Now Act (CSNA).
The passage of the CSNA in 2022 made Maryland a national leader in greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Maryland is currently developing the plan to meet those goals. MDE recently published its Maryland’s Climate Pathway report and will in December, based upon feedback, publish a final plan to reduce climate pollution 60% below the 2006 baseline by 2031. Full and equitable implementation of the CSNA will mean a healthier future for everyone in our state.
Climate Partners is grateful for the opportunity to give input on the Pathway report and applauds the Pathway Report authors and technical reviewers for advancing the state towards a climate plan. The coalition’s comments build on the work done in the Pathway report, while identifying some of its limitations and proposing further recommendations for improving and strengthening the climate plan to be issued in December 2023. You can view the full Climate Partners’ recommendations at https://bit.ly/cpfinalrecs2023.
Climate Partners has worked for over a year to bring forth a set of shared recommendations developed by a broad cross-section of Maryland organizations and communities. The coalition’s recommendations are informed by input from over one hundred community organizations and Maryland leaders, gathered through over a dozen town halls and roundtable events, over 25 interviews and consultations, surveys, and more.
Endorsed by 34 organizations, the recommendations that make up the Climate Partners’ report cover the transportation, energy and electricity, buildings, natural resources, and waste sectors, along with overarching themes relating to equity, revenue, and monitoring and evaluation. Each sector-focused chapter includes a summary of greenhouse gas reduction projections resulting from Climate Partners’ recommendations, commentary on the Pathway Report, specific policy recommendations, and when appropriate, key design principles for specific policies to enable successful and equitable implementation. Additionally, each sector-focused chapter includes community testimonials to illustrate and contextualize the issues.
As MDE creates its final recommendations for how the state should meet its ambitious pollution reduction mandates, we strongly encourage MDE to include the policies recommended by Climate Partners.
Read the Climate Partners' Recommendations.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689
CASA
Cedar Lane Environmental Justice Ministry Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Center for Progressive Reform
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
Climate Communications Coalition
Climate Law & Policy Project
Climate Reality Greater Maryland
Climate XChange Maryland
Earthjustice
Echotopia LLC
Elders Climate Action Maryland
Fix Maryland Rail
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
Howard County Climate Action
Indivisible Howard County
Institute for Market Transformation
Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
League of Women Voters of Maryland
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Maryland Legislative Coalition
MLC Climate Justice Wing
NAACP Maryland State Conference, Environmental and Climate Justice Committee
National Housing Trust
One Montgomery Green
Policy Foundation of Maryland
Progressive Maryland
Safe Healthy Playing Fields Inc.
Sierra Club Maryland Chapter
The Climate Mobilization Montgomery County Chapter TCM MoCo
Transform Maryland Transportation Coalition
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland
