Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held its first hearing on climate change since 2009 on the need to address climate change and its impacts on American communities, natural resources and economic well-being. Governor Baker, a witness on the first panel along with Governor Cooper of North Carolina, provided testimony.
In his opening remarks, Governor Baker thanked the Committee “for addressing this issue in a bipartisan manner and for looking to the states who, along with cities and towns, are directly taking on this challenge by setting bold targets, developing practical and cost effective solutions, and working collaboratively across the country.” Baker called on the Federal government to increase funding to build more resilient infrastructure, create federal emissions targets that can vary by state or region, invest in research related to emissions reduction and climate change adaptation, and to generally incorporate climate change risk into federal planning decisions. “We understand the science and know the impacts are real because we are experiencing them firsthand,” Baker said.
