What They Took From Us: The Almosts and Losses of the MA Climate Bill

Throughout July, climate groups including XR Boston, 350 Mass, Our Revolution MA, Mass Power Forward, Scientist Rebellion, FRAACS, and Mothers Out Front swarmed the State House ahead of a major possible milestone: Bill H4876, The MA Climate Bill. You might be asking, "Does XR's 'Beyond Politics' mandate preclude conversations about specific legislation?" The answer is, "Yes it does, but we're definitely allowed to put pressure on our government at key moments, and the end of this legislative session was considered a key moment." Rumors swirled about the contents of the bill, concessions were made, but the possibility of legally binding consequences for climate crimes kept the community hoping for a positive outcome.

The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Senator Mike Barrett, and advanced in the House through an amendment filed by Representatives Cataldo, Ciccolo, Gentile, Gordon, Peisch, and Madaro, and co-sponsored by 30 others. One particularly exciting aspect of the climate bill was Amendment #105. The amendment requires that Massport consider “environmental resiliency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and incorporating environmental justice principles.”

For the first time in Massachusetts history, the statewide transportation authority would have been legally bound to consider our collective long-term futures. If the bill had passed with this amendment, it would have been a special victory for communities in Massport-affected neighborhoods, including around Logan Airport and the highly-controversial Hanscom Airfield. XR Boston has collaborated for years with East Boston organizations including GreenRoots, Mothers Out Front, and AIR, Inc. to demand environmental and climate justice for our Logan-area neighbors, and made international news for our civil disobedience action at Hanscom in April.

Chris Marchi, community leader with AIR Inc. from the Logan area, says “Under the Port Authority’s current charter, Massport’s staff, board, and leadership have no explicit responsibility to reduce environmental impacts. They see their calling as boosting the economy. The unspoken paradigm is “It’s the economy versus the environment” and without the requirement to address environmental costs, Massport has routinely chosen the most environmentally destructive alternatives.”

Another potentially positive aspect of the climate discussion in this legislative session was Section 101 of Bill S.2838. This part of the Senate’s energy bill would have required gas companies to stop wasting ratepayer dollars on methane gas infrastructure and instead work to transition the Commonwealth from gas to non-emitting alternatives. The House, however, resisted this provision. Lee Ketelsen, an activist with Mothers Out Front, said “We appreciate senators holding out for a strong climate bill that transitions us off of methane gas. We don’t need a climate bill that does nothing to address gas system expansion, which is supercharging the climate crisis."

The Final Day

On Wednesday July 31st, the final day of the legislative session, activists with Extinction Rebellion Boston, 350 Mass, Our Revolution MA, Mothers Out Front, Scientist Rebellion, Mass Power Forward, FRAACS, and others publicly celebrated the final day of our State House Stand-Out. For 60 weeks, beginning on June 5 2023, participants in the Stand-Out gathered at the Massachusetts State House every business day to put relentless pressure on the Governor and the legislature to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure immediately. The State House Stand-Out served as a community gathering place, public vigil for the climate, and as an opportunity to make volunteers' voices heard.

Most days, volunteers stood outside the General Hooker entrance of the building, but they were also found at the Ashburton entrance and sometimes in the lobby of the Executive Office. The Stand-Out bore witness to climate inaction from the state government and engaged the public on the climate emergency. Every day, volunteers handed out informative fliers to passersby, spoke with visitors and State House staff, and wrote postcards to Governor Healey, Senate President Spilka, and House Speaker Mariano.

The celebration began at 11 am, within the usual hours of the Stand-Out. As a summer rainstorm poured down on the State House, participants gathered outside the General Hooker entrance and at Nurses Hall on the second floor of the State House. After our friend Kirk from the Boston Area Brigade of Activist Musicians played rousing tuba tunes, another friend Scott played guitar. On the second floor, participants wrote their last round of postcards to different legislators to prompt immediate climate action. Organizers gave rousing speeches about the meaning and dedication behind the Stand Out, then everyone lay on the floor in a "die in," representing the uncountable deaths that have already happened because of climate change.

Stand Out co-organizer Peter Watson says, "Like a stone in a shoe, we have been a perpetual reminder that something is wrong and needs fixing. The low hanging fruit in our state's climate challenge are the unnecessary and costly fossil fuel expansions, such as Project Maple or the expansion of private jet hangar space at Hanscom Airport. They are the rotten fruit of the fossil fuel industry. Every work day for almost 14 months, we have been urging representatives, state senators, and the Governor to reach out and pluck these projects before they swell, open, and poison our climate."

Regardless of the outcomes of this legislative session, we encourage all members of the State House Stand Out community to celebrate 13+ months of daily action for No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure. To review the "captains log" of the Stand Out, check out https://statehousestandout.wordpress.com/

The Outcome

In the early hours of August 1, after an all-night session, the Massachusetts legislature adjourned without passing a climate bill. According to a press release from Mothers Out Front, "Although the Senate and the House both passed "omnibus energy packages" in the last few weeks, conference committee negotiations broke down with members unable to come to an agreement." Climate and environmental advocates across Massachusetts are beyond disappointed. Our government had the opportunity to finally turn our state into the "climate leader" that our Governor boasts we are, and they failed. They decided yet again to prioritize profits and political posturing over the well-being of residents.

In our grief, we must remember that even what was proposed for the Climate Bill did not meet XR Boston's demand of "No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure." As longtime XR member Monty says, "Even if all the good amendments the Senate considered were approved, we would have still been short of what is needed. Without those amendments, the Senate bill was weak. The House was weaker still. Healey was missing in action. We have a long way to go and should aim for a strong bill with a lot of pressure to act in 2025, and not wait until July 31, 2026."

Now What?

If we have learned anything from what the Boston Globe called a "historically bad session" of the legislature, it's that we need a flood of civil disobedience. The State House Stand Out created an irrefutable presence of education and friendly interaction every business day for over a year, public and visible to everyone who worked in the State House. If the legislature was going to respond to that level of pressure, it stands to reason that they would have. There is no rational choice but to escalate our tactics. Luckily, we know how to do that.

Join XR Boston's next online Non-Violent Direct Action training. You will learn how to engage in non-violent civil disobedience. We'll cover some theory behind direct actions, discuss the logistics of arrest and potential legal implications, and talk about the many different roles (beyond risking arrest) that are crucial to successful actions. You will get to talk to a few people who have gone through the arrest process and ask questions you might have. RSVP today and get started.