Around New England

Massachusetts Gov Candidate Ben Downing Says State Should Run Entirely On Non-Fossil Fuels By 2040

April 8, 2021

Former state senator Ben Downing, now is running for governor in Massachusetts, says he wants the state running entirely on non-fossil fuels by 2040.

“I think Massachusetts has the potential to solve these big problems. What we haven’t had from our leadership is a sense of urgency and maybe on no other issue is that urgency needed than on climate,” Downing said, according to MassLive.

“The clock has been ticking and it is ticking and every day that we don’t act with that sense of urgency then the cost and the scale of what we have to do in a shortened period of time becomes that much tougher,” he later added.

Downing did not explain why he picked 2040 specifically. However, his measure differs from Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 in two ways.

Not only is Downing’s goal 10 years sooner, but it would not allow for the use of any carbon emitting energy. Net-zero emissions allows for it, provided there are carbon offsets involved like reforestation.