New England trade associations fight electrification with the help of some familiar climate foes
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy and the external appendages of climate delay
While most of the crimes, deception, and profiteering that have led to the climate crisis are easily attributed to a handful of large fossil fuel companies and their wealthy executives, many of the groups pedaling misinformation and delay tactics on the clean energy transition are simply small businesses, more concerned about the fate of their business than the fate of the planet.
The businesses in the Northeast that produce, repair, and sell gas products are starting to face the difficult reality that their products may not have a future in the clean energy economy. As climate pressures mount, these businesses are banding together to try to quell the increasing backlash against the effects of their products on human health and the environment.
Their strategies follow a familiar course: downplaying the climate impacts of natural gas, casting doubt on the viability of renewable energy sources, and promoting their preferred alternatives, namely “fossil free” fuels like biomethane and hydrogen.
These efforts come as cities and towns in Massachusetts and across the country have been pushing to ban gas connections in new construction in order to decarbonize the energy grid. Local opposition has emerged from trade associations like the Northeast Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (NEHPBA), the Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association (MEMA), and the Propane Gas Association of New England (PGANE).
These trade associations allow their members – which may be far too small to influence government affairs on their own – to have a hand in crafting environmental and health policy across the state. In Massachusetts and across the Northeast, trade organizations like these are spending tens of thousands to lobby legislators and generate public opposition to efforts to phase out gas.
According to their own estimates, NEHPBA lobbyists met with more than 38 state legislators across New England and New York about issues related to electrification.
In Massachusetts, the organization boasts of “regular in-person conversations with Chairman Roy (TUE) to talk about MA energy policies,” referring to Jeffrey Roy (D), the co-chair Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy.
While their lobbying presence is significant (especially compared to environmental organizations, which spend far less on lobbying than their opposition), the businesses that make up these associations also can have additional local influence, where decisions on municipal gas bans can come down to the hyper-local politics of town governments.
Available on its website, NEHPBA has a series of fliers and social media graphics opposing electrification legislation for their members to distribute to customers.
“An important choice may be taken from us! There is a plan to eliminate natural gas from our homes,” reads one postcard. “Natural gas is helping reduce emissions,” reads another flier.
“Natural gas is actually much cleaner than people think – there’s an unfortunate dialogue out there that says it's not clean,” said Karen Arpino, the executive director of the NEHPBA, in an interview. “We’ve been increasing our use of natural gas in this country for a long time, and we’ve been decreasing our carbon emissions significantly for the past 20 years.”
But no number of corporate pamphlets can change the fact that natural gas remains a dangerous greenhouse gas. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is about 86 times more potent pf a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time scale. The tactics used by these trade associations mirrors that of the larger and more famous foes of the climate fight.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), an oil and gas trade association considered by many climate activists akin to distilled evil, is listed as a member of both MEMA and the NEHPBA (PGANE does not disclose its membership to the public). With help from member companies including ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP, API has been using its massive resources to peddle climate denial, misinformation, and delay tactics since the early 1980s, despite understanding the climate threat since as early as 1968.
NEHPBA also includes a two-page pamphlet from the American Gas Association (AGA) in its “gas ban toolkit.” This includes a series of bullet points promoting natural gas in Massachusetts, including the misleading claim that “in 2016, natural gas systems (distribution and transmission) emissions represented only 1.1% of total Massachusetts GHG emissions.”
Conversely, a recent study led by Harvard researchers shows that Massachusetts chronically undercounts methane leaks from its gas system. More importantly, the AGA claim excludes emissions produced from actually burning the gas. According to the state’s estimates, natural gas accounted for about 33 percent of total emissions in the state, while the actual number might be even higher.
The AGA has also been working nationally to pass state laws to preemptively prohibit cities and towns from passing local bans on gas connections in new construction. One such law was signed into law in New Hampshire in 2021 to the delight of the NEHPBA.
But despite the NEHPBA’s legislative efforts and accomplishments, despite their dogged efforts against electrification and the phase out of gas, and despite the fact that they seem to be on a direct collision course with the aims of climate activists, their care for the environment surely remains as strong as any tree hugger.
“Northeast HPBA strongly supports – make sure this is clear – a clean environment,” said Arpino. “We are not firebreathers.”
Climate News Roundup
Connecticut
A state task force met for the first time in years to assess how Connecticut has done in addressing pollution from PFAS (Brian Scott-Smith — WSHU)
Maine
According to a state report, Maine’s vast forests are sequestering about 75% of its carbon emissions (Mehr Sher — Bangor Daily News)
Massachusetts
Residents of the North Shore are calling for a comprehensive health and environmental review of a controversial “peaker” plant in Peabody, following a recent study which found that nearby residents are already faced with increased risk of cancer and disease (Miriam Wasser — WBUR)
An in-depth look at the history of environmental justice in East Boston since the expansion of the Logan Airport in the 1960s (Jeremy Siegel — GBH).
The royals came to Somerville and it apparently had something to with climate change and I couldn’t bring myself to read any of the coverage about it, let along write about it myself
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is falling behind its neighboring states on climate action and lacking a long-term strategy for climate mitigation, according to a report from the University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute and the Union of Concerned Scientists (Sruthi Gopalakrishnan — Concord Monitor)
Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission is taking on an investigation into the future of the state’s gas system, following similar proceedings in Massachusetts that remain both unresolved and highly contentious (Rob Smith — ecoRI)
Recently released data show declining overall emissions in Rhode Island, though the state still has a long way to go in order to meet its 2030 goals (Alex Kuffner — The Providence Journal)
Two oil refiners will pay the state $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit over soil and groundwater pollution, following two previous settlements with other oil companies. Litigation between Exxon Mobil and the AG’s office is still ongoing (Providence Business News)
Vermont
New research from University of Vermont scientists sheds light on which species of young trees will fare better under extreme weather conditions driven by climate change (Cat Viglienzoni — WCAX)