MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • November 29, 2020
To help slow climate change, scientists say Maine urgently needs to slash greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the myriad impacts of a climate that’s changing so quickly, it poses a cascading threat to the health, prosperity and way of life of every resident and enterprise. The primary way to do it is to encourage a quick pivot from gasoline and heating oil to electricity from renewable generation such as wind and solar, coupled with evolving storage technology, will power electric vehicles and efficient heat pumps. But if electrifying the economy makes power too expensive, not enough people and businesses will make the transition. That is a summary of the conclusions, solutions and challenges contained in Maine’s new Climate Action Plan to be released during an online presentation Tuesday.