Climate Change and the 2022 Session

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The UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland expects to support several bills in the 2022 legislative session:

Priority Bills

• Environmental Human Rights Amendment to the State Constitution

• Climate Solutions Now Act

Bills of High Interest

• Equity in the Transportation Sector Act

• Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act

• Extended Producer Responsibility

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Environmental Human Rights Amendment

Provisions of the Amendment

• Each person has a fundamental and inalienable right to a healthful and sustainable environment and said right shall not be infringed.

• The state, as trustee, shall protect, conserve, and enhance Maryland’s natural resources, including its air, lands, waters, wildlife, and ecosystems, for the benefit of both present and future generations.

Rabbi Nina Cardin, Director of the Maryland Campaign for Environmental Human RIghts (mdehr.org), spoke to the UULM-MD 2022 Legislative Kickoff. A video of her remarks is here.

As human beings, we depend on clean air, clean water, healthy soil, and a stable environment. Without these essentials, all other rights are jeopardized. As you can see from the image below, Maryland residents face increasing exposure of pollutants in the air, water, and land which have negatively impacted public health with increased rates of lung disorders, heart disease and cancer. Even worse, the pandemic revealed that these disparities in exposure to air pollution also increased the likelihood of developing Covid19 in black and brown communities.

We can and must do better for our communities:from Maryland landfills with harmful greenhouse gas emissions, to the CAFOs and nitrate pollution on the Eastern shore, to concentrated power plants and superfund sites in Prince George’s and Calvert Counties, to PFAS contaminating drinking water in Montgomery County and fish in Piscataway Creek and the Potomac River, and many more. 

The consistent thread across these examples is the reality that communities of color and those who live in low-income neighborhoods are the communities bearing the burden of this pollution and the consequences of health disparities.  Our state has created systems that reinforce inequity from generation to generation and it’s time to make fundamental changes to those systems.

To amend the Constitution, the bill must pass each house of the Maryland General Assembly with at least 3/5 of the votes. After passage, the proposed amendment becomes a referendum in the November 2022 General Election. The voters decide!

In support of the passage of the Environmental Human Rights Amendment, UULM-MD is sponsoring the UU Kids for a Livable Planet an intergenerational, congregation-based campaign to persuade the Maryland General Assembly of the need for a constitutional amendment for environmental human rights (see: Maryland Campaign for Environmental Human Rights) and to pass climate justice and environmental protection bills supported by UULM-MD and our partners. We will also encourage and support the ministers of interested congregations to offer prophetic preaching, and pastoral support especially for teens and their parents, who may be anxious about climate change and disasters. A full description of the UU Kids for a Livable Planet project is here.

Climate Solutions Now Act

The Climate Solutions Now Act will be reintroduced this year after almost passing in the 2021 session. Senator Pinsky and Delegate Barve are working together to ensure passage.

The provisions of the Climate Solutions Act will include the following provisions.

• Sets Maryland on a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2045 with an interim goal of 60% reductions by 2030.

• Requires the creation of new Buildings Electric Performance Codes

• Require that construction of new buildings greater than 25,000 sq ft be all-electric and requires transition of existing buildings to all electric

• Building more efficient schools that rely on clean energy

• Requires electrification of the state fleet by 2030

• Requires methane emissions data to be monitored on a 20-year basis

• Increased emphasis on environmental justice in disproportionately affected communities

• Create systematic plans for workers displaced by the shift to clean, renewable energy

The House of Delegates and the Senate are taking different strategies, the Senate will introduce an omnibus bill, while the House will have separate bills, similar to the Police Reform Act passed in 2021.

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For more information, please contact Climate Change Task Force Chair Phil Webster at ClimateChange@uulmmd.org.