A group representing business, labor and environmentalists that worked out a compromise on legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions has asked Gov. Martin O’Malley to back it as administration legislation, Environment Secretary Shari Wilson said Thursday.
A bill to reduce greenhouse gases in Maryland 25 percent by 2020 failed in the Senate because of opposition by steelworkers and other union members who feared they would lose jobs, but some opponents worked with other stakeholders on the 40-member group to craft a compromise plan.
“I think we’re very close to a compromise that will allow it to pass this year, so I’m very inclined to make it part of this [administration] package,” O’Malley told reporters Thursday.
In a radio interview on WEAA-FM Wednesday, O’Malley said, “I think we may have crafted a way that labor leaders and environmentalists will be able to jointly support a piece of legislation that accomplishes the goals of the climate change reduction and may well even be a national model.”
Wilson did not share the details of the compromise with the Senate Education, Health and Environment Committee, but she said industry emissions are “a very small part of our pie” — only about 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 42 percent from electric power generation and 30 percent from transportation.
The Climate Action Plan recommends 42 measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some of them already being implemented, such as the clean cars programs, energy conservation plans, environmental standards for public buildings and regional sale of carbon emission licenses as a funding source for these programs.
Others measures include telecommuting programs, transit incentives, requiring smart growth development, planting urban trees and buying local. Legislation will be needed to require improved performance of power plants and improved building and trade codes.
Wilson said no manufacturing jobs would be lost in the new plan, but that Maryland could create 144,000 to 326,000 jobs in clean tech industries. The state could see a net economic benefit of as much as $2 billion, her department estimated.
“We have made tremendous progress from where we were last year,” Wilson told the committee. “We now have a road map.”
Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George’s, who sponsored last year’s failed attempt and participated in the work group, said the compromise “goes a long way toward final passage.”
“We didn’t always agree on every issue, but in most cases, we did,” Pinsky said.
With the new administration in Washington, Wilson said, “We’re likely to see a federal program.”
“We might not be a trailblazer, but we and other states can shape the federal discussion,” Pinsky said.
“Maryland is not alone in this effort,” Wilson said, with eight other states working on similar plans.
