Setting higher standards
'In 2008, Gov. Martin O'Malley asked the Maryland General Assembly to approve legislation that would lead to a dramatic cut in Maryland greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. Lawmakers balked. A coalition of Republicans, business leaders, union officials and the power industry succeeded in killing the bill — only to see a more modest version pass the following year.
Even then, Republicans and taxpayer groups weren't happy with the revised goal — a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020. A "job-killer" some decried. A "hidden tax" is how the House's top Republican described the measure during the floor debate. Critics thought the governor had made a pie-in-the-sky promise that he couldn't possibly keep.
Last week, the bipartisan commission first established by Mr. O'Malley eight years ago reviewed where Maryland stands in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and came to a conclusion that would surely have startled anyone who witnessed the 2007 debate: Maryland is not only on track to meet or exceed that 25 percent reduction, it has done so not by killing jobs but by creating them.
Further, members of the Maryland Climate Change Commission decided it's time for the state to set its goals much higher. The group voted unanimously to recommend that a new goal be established — a 40 percent reduction by 2030. That would put the state on track to meet the kind of 70-to-80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 that scientists believe will be necessary to blunt the worst effects of climate change and that Mr. O'Malley originally envisioned. . .
Obviously, there are still many challenging issues related to climate change that Maryland's political leaders will have to tackle. It's one thing to set a goal, it's another to support programs that will achieve it, whether they involve tax credits, direct investments in renewable energy, conservation mandates or other hot-button issues. But the success of an effort launched in 2007 — when the year 2020 seemed a long way off — is reassuring: Maryland can dramatically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in a reasonable time frame and without sacrificing livelihoods. Pay attention, Republican candidates for president, denying basic science and ignoring the threat of climate change is not the path to economic prosperity. Taking appropriate action and investing in the future is.'
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-climate-20151102-story.html
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