“Our current situation is different, and yet in some respects it’s the same,” said Barrett. “What we’re doing in Massachusetts becomes all the more important as the odds go longer around significant national action.”

While in Glasgow, Barrett said that in addition to speaking on a panel about pricing carbon emissions, he expected to talk with legislators from Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, even China, Russia, and Australia, where national climate efforts have not been enough to meet the climate crisis.

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Barrett said he plans to address a couple of key topics while in Scotland. The electrification of transportation and heating are both at the forefront of his mind, he said. Barrett is pushing for increased state subsidies that would allow individuals to purchase more electric vehicles. This extends to public transportation, where Barrett wants to see more electric MBTA buses. He also wants to find better ways of persuading people to switch to electric heat pumps instead of traditional furnaces in their homes, he said.

“This nitty gritty, close-up question of execution is a tough one,” he said. “What we need to do in Glasgow is to come up with some international standards for state and city actions.” 

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“You can’t have utilities in charge of an all-out push to electrify,” said Senator Mike Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who was the lead author of the state’s 2050 climate law. “Mass Save is probably not going to be the quarterback to bring us to the emissions reductions Super Bowl as it’s currently constituted.” 

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Watch Sen. Barrett’s interview with Cheddar News here.