Where I Stand

Every week, there are examples of a changing climate in our state. As the Gulf of Maine warms, fishermen are finding the ranges of fish and lobster populations to be different from what they were a generation ago. Municipalities and utilities are struggling to maintain infrastructure pummeled by increasingly frequent severe storms. Across the country, American livelihoods are being destroyed by droughts, floods, forest fires, and driving other changing weather patterns. Around the world, climate change is destabilizing nations, driving migration, and posing multiple national security threats.

Despite these challenging events, innovation, investment, and hard work in Maine can improve our present and future. In order to achieve a clean energy future, the world will need a massive build out of clean energy resources, energy storage, transmission, and associated projects. 

Decarbonizing the electric grid and electrifying end uses — including transportation — will be key to reducing our carbon emissions. Additionally, research, innovation, and investments in new energy solutions will be needed for many sectors.

What I've Done

• Led the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 14 to restore critical and commonsense regulation of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
• Helped pass, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, our nation’s largest ever investment in clean energy – multiple original provisions including tax credits for heat pumps and biomass stoves, which will provide cheaper and cleaner options for home heating in Maine.
• Helped pass, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, various provisions to support energy storage, including funding for innovative recycling of critical minerals, long-duration demonstration projects, and a study to ensure our codes and standards were supportive of the technology’s varied uses.