Maryland Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce legislation next year to increase the state’s use of renewable energy and boost both training for and development of clean-energy jobs, with a particular focus on helping women and minorities.
State Senate Majority Leader Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore) and Del. Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince George’s), who plan to co-sponsor the forthcoming bill, said the renewable-energy program would be the largest of its kind in state history, with $40 million allocated for worker training and business development.
They announced the proposal at a news conference in Annapolis, as world leaders continued to meet at a global climate-change summit in Paris.
“This is not a choice between addressing climate change and improving the economy,” said Davis, who chairs the House Economic Matters Committee. “I believe they are the same thing. These policies are working to reduce pollution and create jobs.”
The legislation would require Maryland to get 25 percent of its energy from renewable-energy sources such as wind and solar by 2020, accelerating existing standards that call for 20 percent by 2022. Meeting the 25-percent target would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 2.7 million metric tons per year, Pugh and Davis said, the equivalent of taking 563,000 passenger vehicles off the road annually.
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