Climate activists are doing a victory lap as the House hit pause on a proposal to ease Massachusetts’ 2030 climate target from an energy affordability bill.

The 2030 limit obligates Massachusetts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 1990 levels by the end of the decade.

The bill, drafted by Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee House Chair Mark Cusack, was an effort by House Democrats to redefine the state’s energy transition around affordability and competitiveness, State House News reported.

It was a bright moment, though brief: affordability taking center stage in legislation.

Among its provisions, the proposal would detach the Mass Save program from its emissions-reduction mandate and return it to a cost-effectiveness focus; lift the ban on Mass Save rebates for efficient gas heating systems; cap the next three-year plan at $4 billion; and cut the size of the 2025–2027 plan as currently proposed.

Them’s fighting words for the climate change crowd, which pushed back. More than 100 climate and environmental groups have been urging the Legislature to reject any effort to weaken the 2030 mandate or reduce Mass Save funding.

But who advocates for those struggling now with the choice to pay high energy bills or buy food or medicine? Who speaks for them?

Affording utilities has hit a breaking point, with more consumers falling behind on their bills. Nationwide, past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers.

Winter is coming for New England, and people need to keep warm. Focusing on affordability in an energy bill makes sense if lawmakers care about struggling voters.

Other blue states have met the moment. As Jessica Twohey wrote on InsideSources.com, after decades of anti-fossil-fuel policies and climate-change catastrophe politics, New York state gave the go-ahead for a major natural gas pipeline project.

Recent polling from Fairleigh Dickinson University found that even among Democrats in the blue enclave of New Jersey, there is growing support for natural gas. Overall, 64% of NJ voters now back building new natural gas plants.

Dena Wiggins, president and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association, said there has been a noticeable shift among elected officials away from anti-fossil-fuel rhetoric and toward energy-policy reality.

“What’s finally coming into the conversation is a dose of reality,” Wiggins said. “In order to deliver energy affordably and reliably, natural gas has to be in the mix.”

Reality is falling behind on heating bills, going cold in order to afford food or medications or rent. And there are far too many who have to resort to that.

Massachusetts is not a cheap place to live and inflation isn’t helping. When next the Legislature meets for formal sessions, we hope energy affordability returns to Beacon Hill, and lawmakers listen to their constituents.

Editorial cartoon by Joe Heller (Joe Heller)