Letter: The Bay State Needs Real Solutions on Emissions
The Bay State Needs Real Solutions Not Unconstitutional Laws and Meritless Lawsuits
By Jared Valanzola
Earlier this year, a New Jersey judge rejected a lawsuit attempting to force energy producers to fully foot the bill for the impact of global emissions. The ruling was clear: individual US states lack the power to regulate and impose liabilities on the use of fossil fuels—products necessary for a functioning modern society—through local laws.
Despite this legal precedent—and the consistent dismissal of similar lawsuits—lawmakers in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York are skipping due process and the courts this time to enact laws that hold a handful of energy companies solely responsible for climate change.
The campaign behind these misguided measures falsely pins emissions only on producers. That argument ignores the reality that emissions come from consumption—the fuel that heats our homes, powers our cars, and runs our emergency services and economy. Penalizing those who extract these resources does nothing to change the fact that modern society depends on a mix of energy sources, even to charge the electric vehicles often touted as a solution. Instead of coming up with real solutions, lawmakers are scapegoating the energy sources that fueled the industrial revolution and modernized the world.
Like the laws enacted in Vermont and New York, the Massachusetts proposal would impose a massive financial burden on a few energy companies, a tax totaling $75 billion in total. But this plan ignores a fundamental fact: climate change is a global problem. Singling out a few producers while ignoring massive emissions from abroad—especially China’s state-run coal operations—is ineffective and economically reckless. It won’t cut a single ton of emissions or hold the world’s biggest polluters accountable. Instead, it will raise energy costs for American consumers, making affordability an even greater challenge.
Affordability is at the heart of today’s national conversation. Families from the Bay State to Washington State are struggling with high energy prices and the rising cost of living, yet lawmakers continue to push policies that will only make these problems worse. If elected officials want to regain the public’s trust, they should focus on providing relief, not proposals like these that drive up costs across the supply chain––and ding every American’s wallet and pocketbook. Higher energy prices will be passed to consumers, further increasing utility bills and those stubbornly high prices in the grocery store.
Let’s not force a populace whose cries for economic relief were overshadowed by faulty government statistics to pay more under the guise of climate action.
But this doesn’t mean energy producers don’t have a role to play. In fact, the right path forward is encouraging market-driven solutions and bringing new energy sources into the fold. An all-of-the-above energy strategy ensures that renewables, nuclear, and emerging technologies develop without government penalties that distort the market and drive up costs. Encouraging advancements in energy efficiency, investing in infrastructure improvements, and fostering competition in the energy sector will do far more than a state-level attempt to assign blame.
The transition to cleaner energy should come from innovation, not new taxes on industries that have fallen out of political favor. Indeed, the Climate Change Superfund campaign sets a dangerous precedent, offering politicians a roadmap for retroactively plundering sectors that have become the object of populist ire. If the lawmakers and special interests behind these bills are successful, they will open the door to further government overreach, where industries can be arbitrarily blamed for every societal problem we face.
These dangerous bills are already drawing legal challenges. A coalition of 22 states sued to block New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, arguing that it is unconstitutional and beyond the state’s powers. The lawsuit makes a straightforward case: New York has no authority to usurp the power of the EPA and global climate treaties to impose liability where those governing bodies have declined to do so.
Rather than repeating the same legal and legislative mistakes as our neighbors in New York and New Jersey, Massachusetts must step up and focus on policies that reduce emissions without undermining economic growth or driving up costs for hard working families. Anything less is just another political distraction, one that ultimately harms the very people it claims to protect.
Jared Valanzola is Chair of the Plymouth County Commissioners