Boston Climate Action Network

Boston City Council voted unanimously today to authorize Marty Walsh to implement Community Choice Energy. This is a huge step forward toward our goal of having a citywide green electricity purchasing program!

The measure drew praise from councilors who had already come out in support of it, as well as from cost hawks like Councilors Linehan and McCarthy. Councilor Pressley praised the fact that advocates in the chamber supported both the Jim Brooks Act, a measure to reduce economic displacement in the City, as well as the CCE order which will help address the potential for displacement due to climate change. That unity of purpose and alignment of action augers well for Boston’s ability to build a more resilient community decades into the future.

The unanimous vote is a clear signal to the Mayor’s office of the broad support for CCE and the need to act swiftly toward implementation. The co-sponsors, Councilors Wu and O’Malley, both noted that they worked with the Mayor’s office after the hearing yesterday to adjust the technical language of the authorization to address the concerns raised by Chief Blackmon at yesterday’s hearing.

Reverend Mariama White-Hammond opened the City Council meeting with a prayer, observing the stewardship we have over the environment, the recent devastating effects of hurricanes, and emphasized the moral imperative to act now on climate change.

That responsibility now lies with the Mayor’s office.  We will be showing up to make sure he heeds the community’s call to speed up the transition to a clean energy economy.