Maryland

    Maryland is uniquely situated as a state that is both particularly vulnerable to climate change and well-positioned to take action. The state is poised to be a leader in clean energy solutions to climate change, thanks in large part to groundbreaking laws CCAN and our allies have helped to pass — including one of the strongest state-level carbon caps in the country, a clean electricity standard to spur wind and solar power, and landmark offshore wind power legislation.

    But Maryland still gets a majority of its electricity from burning dirty fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas. Meanwhile, two of the top three emitting sectors in Maryland — transportation and buildings — haven’t been adequately addressed in our state-level climate action. 

    Learn how you can take action to make Maryland a climate leader and do its part to reduce emissions. 

    Electrify Maryland

    The movement to create cleaner, healthier, all-electric new homes and buildings is lighting up the country. CCAN has a bold vision that Maryland will become a leader in this movement. Building electrification would benefit community members by giving them access to cleaner air, healthier homes, good jobs, affordable clean energy, and energy efficiency to reduce monthly energy bills. We’ve been pushing for statewide reform, along with fighting for local bills on a county level. We first passed bills to electrify new buildings in Montgomery County and Howard County. Now we’re setting our sights on Baltimore County. Soon, we’ll go statewide Learn more >>

    Offshore Wind and Onshore Jobs

    Maryland could become the East Coast manufacturing hub for this growing industry, putting us at the forefront of clean energy development and reducing our reliance on harmful fossil fuels. Wind farms proposed for Ocean City, Maryland could generate enough energy to power over 500,000 homes and steel fabrication sites throughout the state will service wind turbine projects up and down the east coast. Learn more >>

    Landfill Methane in Maryland: Reigning in MD’s Biggest Methane Polluter

    Maryland has a big landfill problem. If you’ve spent an afternoon at Monocacy National Battlefield, dropped your child off at Sandymount Elementary, or watched the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs hit a home run at Regency Stadium, you may have had your senses assaulted by one of Maryland’s 40 municipal landfills. But landfills are not just smelly. They’re also Maryland’s largest source of methane pollution — an extremely powerful greenhouse gas. That’s why we’re taking action to address this issue by fighting for strong landfill methane regulations while working to reduce landfill waste statewide. Learn more >>

    No New Fossil Fuels in Maryland

    Despite rapidly intensifying climate change, Maryland is being overrun with proposed dirty energy infrastructure and other projects that will endanger clean water and vulnerable communities while making climate change worse. Right now, multiple pipelines and compressor stations for fracked-gas are being proposed. Already, the state has seen the construction of a massive liquefied natural gas export facility at Cove Point in Southern Maryland. Billions of dollars, on the taxpayer’s dime, are being invested in new fossil-fuel infrastrucature like extending gas service areas. Fossil fuel companies know that change is coming and are doing everything they can to squeeze every penny out of every day energy users while killing us at an alarming rate. Enough is enough. Communities and legislators are standing together to pledge: No new fossil fuel infrastructure in Maryland. Learn more >>

    Community Solar for Everyone

    In the spring of 2017, Maryland launched a community solar pilot program, thanks to state legislation that CCAN and our allies helped to pass in 2015. We are partnering with community groups and solar developers to spread the word and connect thousands more Maryland families to the benefits of solar. Community solar offers clean energy investment opportunities to everyday Marylanders and CCAN is working on policies to expand that opportunity to low and moderate income communities. Learn more >>

    Moving Maryland Past Dirty Coal

    Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. From mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, to its transport and burning at power plants across Maryland, to the toxic waste left behind, coal destroys the health of our air, water and climate. CCAN is working to shut down Maryland’s dirtiest coal plants, to push for stronger pollution controls in permits for coal mining, transport, processing and export facilities, and to win the strongest standards to clean up coal ash dumps. Learn more>>

    Zero Waste and Moving Away from Toxic Trash

    Burning trash is a dirty business. Trash-burning incinerators emit high levels of mercury pollution and ultra-fine particulate matter, one of the most dangerous known pollutants to human health. They also worsen climate change: trash-burning emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than burning coal. CCAN worked with student advocates to successfully block a proposed incinerator in the Curtis Bay neighborhood of Baltimore in 2016. Now we’re working to find solutions for a zero waste future in Maryland. Learn more>>

     

     

    Past Campaigns

     

    We Passed the Climate Solutions Act

    We are in a “code red” climate emergency according to the world’s top scientists, and the only way to fix it is by reducing carbon pollution 60 percent by 2030. This means bold decarbonization in the top-emitting sectors: transportation, electricity, and buildings. In 2019, we tackled the electricity sector by passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Now, the Climate Solutions Act takes on buildings and the transportation sector while committing to bolder emissions reduction goals and climate action on the state level. Learn more >>

    Stop the Potomac Pipeline and Gov. Hogan’s Fracked Gas Expansion Plans

    TransCanada—the same company behind the Keystone XL pipeline—is threatening Maryland communities and the drinking water of hundreds of thousands with a proposed pipeline. And the Potomac Pipeline, which would transport fracked-gas under the Potomac River and the C&O Canal, is just the beginning: Governor Hogan intends to “kick-start” an expansion of fracked-gas pipelines in Maryland. Learn more >>

    We Passed The Clean Energy Jobs Act

    In 2019, we worked with a power movement supported by more than 650 community, labor, faith, business, climate, and environmental groups from across Maryland to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. This bill requires 50% of Maryland’s electricity to comes from renewable sources by 2030, and sets the stage for a future powered by 100% clean, renewable electricity. Learn more >>

    We Fought Explosive Oil Trains in Baltimore

    Crude oil terminals pose significant safety risks to South Baltimore and the city as a whole, particularly when trains carrying crude oil traverse the city’s outdated rail lines. A crude oil train explosion could threaten thousands of Baltimore residents, local property, and the environment. That’s why we worked with our allies to pass the Crude Oil Terminal Prohibition to zone out new crude oil terminals in Baltimore City. And this bill passed in March 2018! Learn more >>

    We Banned Fracking

    With the help of a powerful grassroots movement, we passed a permanent statewide ban on fracking in Maryland in 2017. Now, our communities will be forever protected from the dangerous form of gas drilling. A great victory! Learn more >>

     

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