Two key committees in the House of Delegates voted back to back on Friday to approve an amended version of a sweeping climate bill that would accelerate the statewide goal to achieve carbon neutral emissions by 2045.
The Environment and Transportation Committee and the Economic Matters Committee approved eleven amendments to the Climate Solutions Now Act, which is slated to be debated on the House floor on Monday.
The biggest changes include delaying an interim greenhouse gas reduction goal by a year, requiring newly constructed buildings to be prepared to switch to electric power and removing all provisions relating to net-zero school buildings.
“This isn’t just about global climate change in my opinion, this is also about public health and safety,” Del. Kumar Barve (D-Montgomery) told the committee on Friday. He said that his committee has been talking “very extensively for nearly seven months” with Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), the lead sponsor on Climate Solutions Now Act. Read more at Maryland Matters.
Photo:Two key House committees voted to move Climate Solutions Now Act onto the floor on Friday. The biggest changes include delaying the greenhouse gas reduction goal by a year, requiring newly constructed buildings to be prepared to switch to electric power and removing all provisions relating to net-zero school buildings. Photo by Danielle Gaines.
