Newly elected Governor of the US State of Massachusetts, Maura Healey has issued an executive order creating what she believes is the nation’s first cabinet-level state climate chief on her first full day on the job on Friday.
Melissa Hoffer who will serve in the role will be charged with working with state officials and city and town leaders to help Massachusetts meet its climate goals, Healey said.
The Democrat said Hoffer will be responsible for driving climate policy across executive department agencies under Healey’s control and ensuring climate change is considered in all relevant decision-making.
Before her appointment, Hoffer was principal deputy general counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency and before that chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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The executive order also creates an Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience within the governor’s office.
“It is our greatest challenge,” Healey said of the threat posed by climate change. “But it is also our greatest opportunity. Massachusetts can and will be a global leader in the fight against climate change.”
Hoffer will be required to present initial recommendations within 180 days and her goal is to build a climate corridor of research, innovation and manufacturing across the state, Healey said at a news conference in the governor’s office.
That includes accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies, expanding the state’s electric charging infrastructure, building a “modern, consumer-oriented clean energy grid,” upgrading transmission for offshore wind power, and ensuring broader.
Story was adapted from AP.
