Wes Moore unveils aggressive climate agenda for first 100 days
Press Release
Leading Democratic candidate for Maryland governor Wes Moore today unveiled an aggressive agenda to combat the climate crisis in his first 100 days in office, if elected governor.
Standing at Middle Branch Park in Baltimore with leaders from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, state legislature, and city council, Moore detailed a commitment to pull every lever in state government to address the climate crisis.
"The urgency of the climate crisis is here. We owe it to ourselves, our state, and our future generations to take bold actions now," Wes Moore said. "That is why within my first 100 days I am calling for eight specific actions to ensure Maryland meets the ambitious climate and environmental justice goals embedded in legislation passed during the recent legislative session."
Moore was joined by leaders from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, which delivered its coveted endorsement to his campaign earlier this month; as well as Del. Kumar Barve (District 17), chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee; Baltimore City Delegation Chair Delegate Stephanie Smith (District 45); Baltimore City Councilmember Mark Conway (District 4); and several more leaders from across the state.
The announcement came just hours after the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 ruling gutting the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate dangerous emissions for polluters.
"At a time when the need for leadership and action has never been more urgent in the climate fight, this aggressive plan demonstrates exactly why the Maryland League of Conservation voters is so proud to endorse Wes Moore to be our next governor," said Kim Coble, Executive Director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.
Moore unveiled an aggressive and comprehensive approach to partnership and governing, with a commitment to:
Ensure accountability at the highest levels of government
Appoint a Chief Sustainability, Mitigation and Resilience Officer (CSMRO), a senior official in the Governor's Office, and direct that individual to work with communities, agencies, the private sector, federal partners, etc. to oversee the implementation of the State's climate plan and identify the top immediate actions Maryland can take to reduce emissions by working with state agencies, climate stakeholders, and community members.
Begin the transition to 100% clean electricity and build a clean energy workforce
Call on the General Assembly to require that 100% of Maryland's electricity be produced by clean sources by 2035 and for at least 80% of electricity to be produced by clean sources by 2030, including specific expansion of offshore wind and solar (both utility scale and community) projects.
Direct Maryland's Department of Labor to engage labor organizations, institutions of higher education, community leaders, the business community and other key workforce advisors to assess clean energy workforce needs and begin developing a plan to train and educate Marylanders to fill positions in the green economy.
Hire additional climate change staff to begin implementing the Climate Solutions Now Act
Immediately direct the Maryland Department of Budget and Management to approve and prioritize funding for the two dozen additional staff the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will need to successfully implement the Climate Solutions Now Act.
Develop a formal partnership with Maryland's institutions to more effectively achieve targets
Begin engaging Maryland's world-class institutions of higher education, including our Historically Black Colleges and Universities, about entering into a formal, long-term partnership to develop a comprehensive and transparent plan to meet technical and human resource needs to fight climate change. These partnerships will build on and leverage capacities inside and outside government to ensure state and local agencies, communities, stakeholders, and workers have access to up-to-date climate information to guide our work and allow us to meet our targets.
Maximize State capacity by aggressively competing for every available federal, public and private dollar
Review the list of formula funds and competitive grant opportunities that have been announced by President Biden and develop a process to draw down every federal dollar available to Maryland. That includes seeking funds from the Carbon Reduction Program to develop a State Transportation Carbon Strategy Plan with local governments, as well as funding for transmission upgrades to support solar and offshore wind capacity expansion in Maryland.
Develop a plan to set aside funding to meet match requirements and begin developing reports and community partnerships required to obtain funding.
In recognition of the impacts of climate change and their effects on the Bay, position Maryland to access large flood reduction project funding, such as the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities FEMA grant, that protects people and improves water quality.
Prioritize Environmental Justice funding to underserved and overburdened communities
Identify and set aside funding to support Maryland's low-income households, and direct the MDE's Building Energy Transition Implementation Task Force to send me a plan for mobilizing public and private funding to improve living conditions and reduce energy costs for all low-income households statewide.
Direct the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) to begin conducting a transit equity analysis, performing a cost-benefit analysis, consulting with members and leaders of affected communities, and taking specified actions based on the results of these activities.
Direct all agencies to begin applying a Justice 40 and low and moderate income (LMI) lens to budgeting decisions for urban and rural communities so we are allocating funding to communities historically disenfranchised and overburdened by environmental pollution.
Aggressively fight to reduce transportation emissions
Direct the MDE to include in the State's next climate plan an incentive program that will help to make new and used EVs more affordable to own than comparable gas-powered vehicles, and direct the MDOT to prepare a plan to ensure that our EV charging infrastructure in Maryland supports older, low cost EVs.
Direct the MDOT to develop a plan that addresses the significant financial, environmental, and environmental justice flaws identified in public comment to the draft environmental impact statement on the proposed I-270 plan, and ensure it includes improved affordable, accessible, and reliable transit.
Aggressively protect our Chesapeake Bay and improve Maryland's water quality
Direct immediate staff increases at agencies that have been decimated over the past eight years, ensuring the protection of public health and water quality standards by increasing the capacity of the agency to effectively regulate polluting facilities like wastewater treatment plants.
Direct the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture to provide five recommendations to rapidly accelerate projects and practices that both improve water quality and sequester carbon, such as forested buffers and soil health measures.
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