CLIMATE CRISIS Massachusetts Democrats recognize that climate change is real and is already causing disruption and destruction

to our property and our lives. The melting of polar ice caps, increased numbers and severity of storms, increased drought and flooding are all changes we cannot ignore. We understand that these changes are a direct result of human activity, primarily green house gas emissions from burning fossil fuels including coal, oil and natural gas. We understand that the resulting Climate Crisis requires prioritized attention and action on the scale equivalent to a major war. It is urgent that the we take immediate action at all levels of government. Massachusetts Democrats Support: 1. Remembering and acting upon the reality that we have the resources in the public and private sectors to address climate change successfully if we are prompt, smart, and shift our resources toward smart policies. 2. Providing local, state, national, and international leadership in addressing climate change. 3. Changing the economy to a sustainable economy rather than an economy structured around the presumption of growth and presumed increases in population and consumption. 4. Preparing for the anticipated impacts of climate change, including flooding, storms, species migration, heat waves, etc., and communicating with the public forthrightly about the realities of those impacts and the requirements of mitigation. 5. Reducing as soon as possible and ultimately eliminating fossil fuel consumption. This means rejection of tar sands oil, including the Keystone XL and Northeast pipelines; rejection of fracking; and no approvals for additional coal and gas capacity. . 6. Disinvesting taxpayer funds from programs and policies that subsidize oil production. 7. Putting a price on carbon using a tax, a cap and trade system, or some other mechanism. 8. Investing in wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. 9. Accelerating weatherization and other programs that will help individuals and businesses reduce the net amount of carbon entering the atmosphere, through methods that create local jobs whenever possible, do not bloat bureaucracy, and do not merely subsidize or prop existing state vendors, but instead foster market creativity and innovation. 10. Encouraging voluntary behavior changes that reduce the impacts of climate change and/or improve the ability to cope effectively. 11. Updating and upgrading infrastructure projects of all types, including transportation systems, with commitments to minimize climate change and its impacts. 12. Upgrading the MA public transportation system so that by 2060, 90% of the population in and near Boston can travel to destinations without using personal fossil-fueled vehicles. Alternative transportation methods include public transportation, bicycles and other person-powered vehicles, and public personally-driven electric vehicles. 13. Recognizing that the party with the strongest grass-roots organization will be in the best position to develop and implement the needed institutional, social and political changes required to cope with the climate change. 14. Creating a Climate Action Committee as part of the State Committee, and a Climate Change Caucus as a subcommittee. The purpose of the CAC shall be to foster collaboration of towns and people, formulation of actions to perform, and oversight to see that they are completed well. The Caucus shall be an ad hoc subcommittee consisting of as many as two representatives from each DTC. It shall be a think tank and action arm of the CAC.