Environmentalists rally for tougher carbon laws

Annapolis (Map, News) - Environmentalists rallying in Annapolis Thursday called on lawmakers to pass toughest-in-the-nation legislation requiring a 90-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

With snow falling, advocates called for passage of a bill that would require a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland by 2020 and a 90 percent reduction by 2050. The plan calls for a carbon cap that could force expensive investments in solar and wind power and eco-friendly buildings, but advocates said they are necessary to halt the potentially disastrous effects of global warming.

“You think the weather is wacky now,” said Brad Heavner, executive director of Environment Maryland. “How wacky will the weather be if the oceans stop circulating?”

The bill, which failed last year, establishes time lines for state agencies to design programs to meet the limits. It also creates a carbon cap-and-trade system for polluting companies.

Lawmakers said environmental legislation is difficult to pass in Congress, and states must act first to send a message. Sen. Paul Pinsky, a Prince George’s County Democrat who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, said he thinks the proposal has enough support to pass this year.

“We’re not going to stop, we’re not going to rest, and I’m not going to stop corralling my colleagues,” Pinsky said.

But some lawmakers said carbon caps should be left to the federal government. And even lawmakers who support the bill said it’s not going to be cheap, especially amid spending cuts and tax increases.

“People will have to figure out creative ways to get us there,” said Del. Sue Kullen, a Calvert County Democrat who is among more than a dozen lawmakers who plan to sponsor the bill.

Claire Douglass, director of Maryland’s chapter of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the state, with 3,100 miles of coastline, is the third most vulnerable to sea-level rise.

jmalarkey@baltimoreexaminer.com

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