Press Release  AG Healey Applauds SJC Decision Upholding State Regulations That Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in the case, New England Power Generators Association, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which upholds regulations issued under the Global Warming Solutions Act that establish greenhouse gas emissions limits for Massachusetts power plants.

“This unanimous decision is a major victory in our state’s fight to expand the clean energy economy, protect air quality, and combat climate change. Now, more than ever, it’s up to Massachusetts to lead the country in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in transforming our energy sector to ensure a sustainable future.”

BACKGROUND:

In August 2017, DEP and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs jointly promulgated regulations that establish an annual declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions from Massachusetts-based power plants. The agencies issued the regulations to help ensure the state meets its long-term emissions reduction goal established by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050 – one of the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction limits for a single state in the country. The New England Power Generators Association, Inc. filed a lawsuit last year challenging the regulations and was later joined by other power sector parties.

The Supreme Judicial Court today affirmed that the power plant emissions cap serves a vital role in encouraging development of clean energy resources to power Massachusetts homes, businesses, and vehicles.

As the Court made clear in its decision, the Global Warming Solutions Act “is designed to go well beyond business as usual in terms of reducing emissions: to upend, rather than to uphold, the status quo.”

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Seth Schofield, Turner Smith, Shannon Beale, and Joseph Dorfler, with assistance from Paralegal Michelle Predi, all of AG Healey’s Energy and Environment Bureau.

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