Issue Position: Environment

Issue Position

Maura is a strong advocate for the environment and for a cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient Massachusetts. She believes that our next AG must respond aggressively to global warming.

As Chief of the Public Protection & Advocacy Bureau, which oversees the Environmental Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office, Maura oversaw and advocated strongly for our state's continued involvement in litigation to build upon Mass. v. EPA, a landmark case requiring the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. Maura worked to ensure strong partnerships between all divisions of the AG's Office that impact energy and environmental issues, achieving a more streamlined and coordinated approach to matters ranging from renewable energy to environmental protection and global warming.

Massachusetts has taken great strides in promoting energy efficiency through initiatives like the Green Communities Act. Maura will continue to champion those efforts.

Maura also believes that carbon taxes and cap and trade both have the potential to provide powerful incentives to reduce carbon dioxide pollution through innovation, driving substantial emissions reductions as a result. With either proposal, Maura knows important questions must be resolved--including how to apply any revenue generated by a carbon tax. She supports using a substantial portion of any such revenue to help consumers ease the transition to a less carbon intensive economy, to further reduce emissions, and to assist adaptation efforts.

Everyone in the Commonwealth deserves a healthy community and a clean environment. The Attorney General's Office is charged with taking on polluters who harm our air, water, and natural resources. Maura will pursue a range of violations including:

Unlawful asbestos removal
Destruction of wetlands
Hazardous waste management and cleanup
Falsifying inspection stickers to "pass" vehicles that have failing emissions controls
Operating equipment without the proper permits and air pollution controls
Activities that threaten or harm protected species.
As Attorney General, Maura will build upon the Attorney General Office's strong track record of protecting residential and commercial ratepayers before the Department of Public Utilities, while we move forward towards a cleaner, healthier Commonwealth.

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