Who Delays Climate Action? Interest Groups And Coalitions In State Legislative Struggles In The United States

Gridlock and rollback in Washington have led to a turn to the states for action on climate change in the U.S. The state of Massachusetts presents a particularly puzzling case, since it was an early leader with binding emissions targets, but the succeeding dozen years saw most ambitious efforts stalled or watered down. We collected 1187 pieces of legislative testimony, 4126 reported lobbying visits, and interviews with and input from over fifty experts. Based on their lobbying reports and testimony in legislative hearings, we systematically characterize the legislative interests of nine main coalitions engaged in Massachusetts energy politics. We find that climate and clean energy advocates have few reliable allies and face four coalitions of opponents from the utilities, real estate, power generators, and fossil fuel and chemical industries. Our analysis indicates the central role utilities play in blocking the most ambitious clean energy legislation, and how they remodel those bills that survive the process into forms favorable to their interests.