EEA Secretary Richard Sullivan has created five Implementation Subcommittees that will monitor progress towards implementing the Global Warming Solution Act (GWSA). The states top policy experts in a broad range of climate issues ranging from land use and conservation, water, air emissions, energy, and transportation to name a few, will lead and staff these Subcommittees, while collaborating closely with climate scientists and policy experts both within and beyond the Commonwealth.
Buildings, Energy Efficiency and Demand-Side Management
Christina Halfpenny, Director, Energy Efficiency, Dept. of Energy Resources (DOER)
Phone: (617) 626-7313 Email: christina.halfpenny@state.ma.us
Christina Halfpenny is the Division Director of Energy Efficiency for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. Christina represents the DOER as Chair of the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, an advisory body put in place to ensure the legislative mandate that “electric and natural gas resource needs shall first be met through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective or less expensive than supply” is achieved through the utility programs. Oversight of the utility and program administrator 3 year efficiency plans as well as building codes and standards, building labeling, and CHP strategies are priorities for Christina in her role at DOER. Prior to joining DOER, Christina was the Director of Energy Efficiency at National Grid, working on residential and commercial gas programs throughout National Grid's US service territory.
Subcommittee Summary: Massachusetts’ building sector is responsible for more emissions than any other sector in the state. Buildings consume more than 50 percent of the energy used in Massachusetts and constitute 49 percent of the state’s GHG emissions, including over 21 percent from direct fuel use excluding electricity. In order to achieve the carbon reduction goals established under the GWSA, the Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2020 established a range of programs targeted to address emissions associated with the amount and location of existing and new building space, the energy performance of these buildings, and the choice of energy sources. The subcommittee is implementing the following key programs to meet its emissions reductions targets : All Cost-Effective Energy Efficiency, Advanced Building Energy Codes, Building Energy Rating and Labeling, Deep Energy Efficiency Improvements for Buildings, Expanding Energy Efficiency Programs to Commercial/ Industrial Heating Oil, Developing a Mature Market for Solar Thermal Water and Space Heating, Tree Retention and Planting to Reduce Heating and Cooling Loads, and Federal Appliance and Product Standards.
Energy Generation & Distribution
Bram Claeys, Director Renewable Energy Policy, DOER
Phone: (617) 626-7324 Email: Bram.Claeys@state.ma.us
Bram Claeys joined the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources in the summer of 2011, as Renewable Energy Policy Director. He is responsible for developing and analyzing opportunities for new and better renewable and alternative energy policies at the Massachusetts state level, and is a member of the management team coordinating the state’s Clean Energy Results Program. Bram Claeys has 12 years of experience in energy and climate policy, working in Belgium, European Union institutions and the UN climate negotiations. As a policy advisor to the energy minister in Belgium, he developed innovative policies to support renewable energy and increase the energy efficiency of industrial manufacturing. He also served on the coordinating committee for the Belgian EU presidency, and the 2010 meeting of the EU-US Energy Council. Prior to that, he served for several years as one of the leading NGO authorities pushing for ambitious climate and energy policies. As an environmental consultant at SGS he analyzed industrial scale investments and the international climate mechanisms. Bram Claeys holds a Masters degree in Chemistry from the University of Ghent as well as degrees in Development Cooperation from the University of Ghent and Environmental Science & Technology from the University of Brussels.
Subcommittee Summary: The Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020 pushes the Commonwealth’s electricity sector toward a clean energy future. This subcommittee will implement policies geared towards the reduction of carbon emissions from the state’s energy sector. The emissions reductions targets established under the Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 202 will be achieved through a multi-faceted approach that will support the development of renewable energy production through the state’s RPS, reduce pollution through Clean Energy Performance Standards, price carbon through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and import low-carbon electricity from Hydro Quebec, all while allowing the EPA to phase out older coal plants as new EPA rules are introduced.
Transportation, Smart Growth And Land Use
Catherine Cagle, Director of Sustainable Transportation, MassDOT
Phone: (617) 973-7181 Email: Catherine.Cagle@state.ma.us
Catherine Cagle serves as the Manager of Sustainable Transportation for The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), launched November 1, 2010. Under the leadership of MassDOT’s Secretary and CEO, Richard A. Davey, Catherine and her 10,000 colleagues are knitting together the cultures and responsibilities of the former transportation agencies into a new, unified organization that operates as one – one transportation agency with one mission: to provide a safe, reliable and efficient transportation network for citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Catherine has been involved in livability and sustainability issues for over 19 years and joined the State team for the launch of MassDOT. She holds an MBA from Simmons College, and a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota. Her professional accreditations include: Massachusetts license Landscape Architecture(RLA), American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and Leadership in Energy and Environment accredited professional (LEED AP). Her professional background blends private land development and public planning and economic development experience in site planning, capital project delivery and brownfield permitting/redevelopment. In Massachusetts she has served as the Assistant Planning Director for the City of Waltham and Director of Economic Development for the Town of Brookline. At MassDOT she oversees Sustainable Transportation which includes GreenDOT, the Healthy Transportation Compact, Global Warming Solutions Act, Mode Shift, and bicycle and pedestrian transportation planning.
Subcommittee Summary: Transportation is second only to buildings with regards to GHG emissions in Massachusetts. The Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020 takes into account state and federal measures to improve vehicle efficiency reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), increase use of lower-carbon fuels, and propose additional measures that will contribute toward meeting the 2020 limit. The transportation Subcommittee is responsible for prioritizing and facilitating implementation of these programs and will focus on ways to improve vehicle efficiency, moderate the growth in auto travel through providing alternatives, and promote the development and use of vehicle fuels that yield lower GHG emissions than petroleum-based fuels. Polices cited in the plan include: Federal and California Light Vehicle Efficiency and GHG Standards, Federal GHG Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Clean Car Consumer Incentives, Pay As You Drive (PAYD) Auto, Insurance Pilot, Massachusetts Sustainable Development Principles, GreenDOT and the Smart Growth Policy Package.
Climate Change Adaptation
Kathy Baskin, Director of Water Policy, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)
Phone: (617) 626-1012 Email: kathleen.baskin@state.ma.us
Kathleen Baskin, Director of Water Policy at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), develops and implements state water policy on issues such as flow and habitat alteration, stormwater management, water quality, and water supply allocation. She managed preparation of the Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report and is leading EEA’s climate change adaptation initiative, which includes coordinating with state agencies on implementation of adaptation strategies. She also manages the Massachusetts Sustainable Water Management Initiative, which promotes protection and sustainable management of water resources for ecological needs and economic development. Before joining EEA, Ms. Baskin developed and directed technical research programs and established restoration and management priorities for an environmental organization and was a consultant at an international engineering firm. She has an MS degree in Environmental Engineering and BS degrees in Civil Engineering and Biology, all from Tufts University.
Subcommittee Summary: The Global Warming Solutions Act directed the EEA Secretary to convene an advisory committee which developed a report that analyzed strategies for adapting to predicted climate change. This Committee released The Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report in 2011 which includes an overview of observed and predicted changes to the Massachusetts climate, predicted climate change vulnerabilities, and potential adaptation strategies that could help increase resilience and preparedness among several sectors, including natural resources and habitat, key infrastructure, public health and welfare, local economy and government, and the coastal zone and ocean. The Adaptation Subcommittee, with broad state agency representation, is responsible for prioritizing and facilitating implementation of adaptation strategies.
Non-Energy Emissions
Sharon Weber, Senior Technical Advisor, Commissioner’s Office, MassDEP
Phone: (617) 556-1190 Email: Sharon.Weber@state.ma.us
Sharon Weber has worked for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) since 1997 and is a Senior Technical Advisor in the Commissioner’s Office. Sharon recently established MassDEP’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting by municipal electric plants, utilities, and other retail sellers, encouraging them to seek credit for use of renewable technologies. She leads development of the Massachusetts GHG Inventory, required under the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act. She has worked on quantifying aspects of energy air emissions since the adoption of NOx emissions trading programs in the Northeast in the 1990s. She has focused on controlling mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, monitoring of low level emissions from power plants and measuring power plant output as the foundation for output-based regulations. Sharon has an MS in Environmental Engineering and Policy from Tufts University and a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Subcommittee Summary: Greenhouse gas emissions from activities not related to energy use represent a small but important part of statewide GHG emissions. Although these sources historically represent on the order of 7 percent of total emissions, many of the gases emitted by these processes have a high global warming potential (GWP), thousands of times greater than CO2. Furthermore, projections of future emissions show steady growth in industrial emissions while emissions from most energy related sectors, with the exception of transportation, are projected to level off or even decline. Specific industrial processes that emit significant quantities of GHGs in Massachusetts include: leakage of refrigerant chemicals from commercial equipment and motor vehicle air conditioners, leakage of SF6 from electric power transmission and distribution, and combustion of plastics in solid waste incinerators. This subcommittee will work to reduce emissions from non-energy sources through some of the following policies: Reducing GHG Emissions from Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning, Stationary Equipment Refrigerant Management, Reducing SF6 Emissions from Gas-Insulated Switchgear, and Reducing GHG Emissions from Plastics.
