Massachusetts has emerged as a national leader on energy, making substantial progress in transitioning away from polluting sources of power to renewable energy and energy efficiency. But now our state is poised to invest billions of dollars to replace retiring power plants with long-lived infrastructure that will shape our future. We must ensure that our state adopts an energy policy that supports local renewable energy resources, keeps energy dollars in our communities, creates sustainable, living-wage jobs and protects our Commonwealth from climate change and life-threatening pollution. We call on our state leaders to power forward with energy solutions that are accountable to our communities, our environment and our future.

Our campaign supports energy policy that strengthens communities, the environment, workers and consumers, and:

1. Protects the public good, putting our energy, water and transportation systems in the hands of people-driven, democratic institutions as opposed to private corporations; and upholds the right to organize in our workplaces and communities;

2. Democratizes our power grid, empowering everyday people and consumers to access, own and control locally generated energy; and prioritizes people over corporations, putting neighborhoods, families and public lands over polluting energy industries;

3. Grows a green economy that creates quality jobs, local workforce development opportunities as well as healthier and safer communities.  Specifically, directs public investment, capital, and contracts toward companies in the green economy that provide living wages, safe working conditions, strict compliance with local, state, and federal wage and hour laws, pay equity across gender, strong health care and retirement benefits, paid family leave and child care, economic mobility, diversity in hiring, a non-discriminatory workplace, support for workers using public transportation and access to worker ownership and unions.

4. Advances Massachusetts toward a safer and healthier economy powered by 100% clean, renewable sources for heat and power, maximizing energy efficiency, demand reduction, energy storage, responsibly sited solar, wind on and off-shore; Rapidly reduces our dependence on polluting energy sources such as coal, oil, gas and nuclear power,  burn technologies like biomass and trash incinerators, and all systems that generate power at the expense of public health; and prohibits public subsidies for new fossil fuel infrastructure;

5. Ensures a just transition for workers and communities impacted by the retirement of power plants, the phase-out of fossil fuels, and climate catastrophe, creating tangible support for training and employment, healthcare and retirement packages for workers and decommissioning and redevelopment planning for municipalities; and bolsters community resiliency as socially and economically vulnerable communities are met with the increased hazards of climate change;

6. Combats climate change, keeping us on track to reduce global warming pollution by no less than 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels;