Join Maine Campaign Case Statement - Flipbook - Page 42
Photos: © Phoebe Parker
AIR PROFILE
BRIAN
HUBBELL
Former Representative, Maine State Legislature,
District #135 (Bar Harbor, Lamoine, and
Mount Desert)
My passion for addressing climate change was first inspired
by climatologist James Hansen’s revelations on global
warming in his address to Congress in 1988. A career built
on exploring architectural adaptations of solar energy
design has granted me a practical perspective on the ways
renewable energy systems can help meet this challenge.
As a Maine state legislator, I was privileged to work with
TNC to restart Maine’s long-stalled climate policy to
address this existential threat.
Here in Maine, we are seeing the effects of climate change
in increasing ocean acidification as well as the ecosystem
and fisheries changes stemming from the warming of
the Gulf of Maine. The corresponding rise in sea level
quantifiably increases the risks of storm damage to
property and infrastructure along our coast.
In partnership with Governor Mills, our state legislature
has begun action to address some of the root causes of
this crisis. We were able to pass bipartisan legislation with
ambitious goals for emissions reductions and begin a yearlong effort by the Climate Council and its large subset of
stakeholder working groups. Together, we’re charged with
updating the state’s 2004 Climate Action Plan in a way
that will meet stricter emissions targets. Multiple TNC
staff serve on the Council to help us realize this goal.
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JOIN MAINE | NATURE.ORG/MAINE
Despite the immediate global challenge presented by
climate change, I am actually hopeful about the current
moment for several reasons. First, the consequences of
inaction are no longer invisible or speculative. Second,
the brute economics of renewable energy are now more
favorable to change than ever before. Third, Maine’s
governor, legislature, and Climate Council are all showing
the leadership this crisis demands, while recognizing the
economic opportunities available to our state born from
that response. Finally, the voice of youth advocacy has
become a powerful part of a critical broad alliance that’s
building here in Maine and beyond.
TNC’s climate policy leadership has made it an
indispensable member of this newly energized coalition.
I look forward to our continued partnership in the climate
action our state and world are now poised to make.
