Around New England

Massachusetts Can ‘Punch Above Our Weight’ When It Comes To Climate Change, Baker Administration Official Says

November 7, 2021

Wind turbines in the ocean and state grants for infrastructure improvements in local communities are among the policies a Baker administration official plans to discuss next week during a climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

“This is the kind of opportunity where solutions that have worked in Massachusetts can really be shared at scale and we can punch above our weight in terms of our climate impact,” said Kathleen Theoharides, the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs, according to State House News Service.

She said she also hopes to learn about new ideas that she can bring back to Massachusetts.

“Coming home and implementing is a key part of all of this,” Theoharides said, according to State House News Service.

She left Friday, November 5 for the second week of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (known as “”COP 26,” meaning it’s the 26^th “Council of Parties” conference), which began Sunday, October 31 and is scheduled to end Friday, November 12.

Also there or expected in Glasgow are John Kerry, a former U.S. senator from Massachusetts, former U.S. secretary of state, and Boston resident, who currently serves as the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate; U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Malden), who replaced Kerry in the U.S. Senate in 2013; and state Senator Michael Barrett (D-Lexington), a supporter of climate change policies in the Massachusetts Legislature.

Supporters of climate change policies — including government subsidies, tax incentives, and regulations to try to lessen the output of carbon dioxide to try to slow climate change — say such an approach is the most important thing government can do because climate change threatens lives and communities.

Skeptics doubt that climate change is reversible or as destructive as supporters say, and they argue that some climate change measures may wreck the economy and impinge on freedom for doubtful gains.

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