Both the State Senate and the State House have a strong history of acting on the best known science.  When the science said that the highest safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere was 450 parts per million (PPM), the elected officials of Massachusetts heard the call, and passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, putting us science-based policy track towards 450PPM.  Now, scientists are saying that 350PPM is the highest safe level.  Since we are already close to 390PPM, we need to stop putting carbon into the atmosphere and start drawing it down as quickly as possible.  The first step of that is to Repower Massachusetts with 100% Clean Electricity by 2020, and lead the country and the world to a clean energy future.

The Leadership Campaign has brought out leaders from all walks of life, and is proud to count Legislative Leaders among its ranks.

 Our bill, An Act to Create a Repower Massachusetts Emergency Task Force, was jointly introduced by Senator Marc Pacheco and Representative Will Brownsberger.

It was co-sponsored by the following legislators during the five-day co-sponsorship window.

• Senator Jamie Eldridge
• Senator Marc Pacheco
  
• Senator Steven Tolman
• Representative Willie Mae Allen
• Representative Jennifer Benson
• Representative Will Browsberger
  
• Representative Linda Dean Campbell
• Representative Katherine Clark
• Representative Mark Falzone
• Representative Gloria Fox
• Representative Sean Garballey
• Representative Jonathamn Hecht
  
• Representative Kay Khan
• Representative Denise Provost
• Representative Tom Sannicandro
• Representative John Scibak
• Representative Ellen Story

The Leadership Campaign was proud to have the support of the below Leaders in our call to have the governor introduce legislation towards that end:

Each of these leaders demonstrated the willingness to listen to the science, the clarity of vision to call for what we need, and the courage to lead by signing the below letter. 

Dear Governor Patrick:

Strong leadership and collaboration between your administration and we on the General Court have put Massachusetts in the vanguard of action to keep our planet and our state prosperous and green. Signing on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, signing the Green Communities Act and the Global Warming Solutions Act put our state on the map, demonstrating our commitment and responsibility for science based stewardship of the planet and the people on it.

When the Global Warming Solutions Act was passed in 2008, it was believed at the time that stabilizing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at 450 parts per million (ppm) would avert the worst consequences of global warming. We heard the science, and we led by example by passing a bill that put our state on a science-based, responsible trajectory towards 450ppm.

 But in the intervening years the rate of change observed across the globe has far outstripped prediction.  Scientists now say that the upper safe level for CO2 in our atmosphere is 350ppm, and we are currently at 390.We need to stop putting CO2 in the atmosphere and begin to draw it out to maintain our prosperity.

That is why we support Repowering Massachusetts with 100% Clean Electricity in the next decade.

We ask you to introduce legislation that would accomplish this goal. Let us send a message to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen before the negotiations begin on December 7th, that Massachusetts is ready to lead towards a world with 350ppm that has a stable climate and a secure and prosperous future for all.

Thank you in advance for your time and attention. We look forward to the opportunity to work together with you on this important and pressing issue.

• Representative William Brownsberger, Vice Chair, House Global Warming and Climate Change Committee
• Representative Willie Mae Allen
• Representative Cory Atkins
• Representative Peter Kocot, Chair, House Ethics Committee
  
• Senator Marc Pacheco, Chair, Senate Global Warming and Climate Change Committee
  
• Representative John J. Binienda, Chair, House Rules Committee
  
• Representative Ellen Story
• Representative Mark Falzone
• Representative Tom Sannicandro, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities
• Representative Bill Bowles
• Representative Jason Lewis
• Represenative Jennifer Benson
• Representative William Lantigua, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Elder Affairs
  
• Representative Sean Garballey
• Representative Katherine Clark
• Representative Gloria Fox, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Housing
• Representative Linda Dean Campbell, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs
  
• Representative Denise Provost
• Representative Kay Khan, Chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
• Senator James Eldridge, Chair, Muncipalities and Regional Government; Vice Chair, Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture
• Representative Christopher Donelan, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
• Representative John Scibak, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emergent Technology
• Representative Pam Richardson
• Representative David Linsky, Chair, House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight
  
• Representative Mary Grant