From:                                                      RooneyVarga, Juliette <Juliette_RooneyVarga@uml.edu>

Sent:                                                        Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:43 PM

To:                                                            RPS, DOER (ENE)

Subject:                                                  RPS Class I and RPS Class II regulations

 

Dear John Wassam,

 

I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed changes to RPS Class I and RPS Class II regulations that would weaken restrictions on the use of wood bioenergy. Our own peer-reviewed scientific research has shown that the climate impacts of wood bioenergy are worse than coal for decades to centuries under most management scenarios. Massachusetts could be in a position to lead on science-based climate policy – instead the proposed changes would increase emissions of climate pollutants while diminishing the capacity of forests to absorb those pollutants. I write as a scientist and a mother of three boys, whose future hangs in the balance of the climate choices we make today. I urge you to demonstrate that Massachusetts embraces science-based policy by taking biomass out of the APS and ensuring that it is not included in the RPS.

 

Sincerely,

Juliette Rooney-Varga

 

______________________________

Juliette N. Rooney-Varga, Ph.D.

Director, Climate Change Initiative

Assoc. Prof. Environmental Science

 

Olney Hall 102D, 265 Riverside St.

Lowell MA 01854 USA

 

Office tel: 978.934.4715

Mobile tel: 617.529.3924