Maryland Senate poised to pass major climate bill, but without key policy cutting fossil fuel dependence

The Maryland Senate voted along party lines Monday night to pass a sweeping climate change bill that would accelerate state greenhouse gas reduction goals in a bid to make the state carbon neutral by 2045, while requiring large buildings to significantly reduce energy footprints by 2035. But the chamber has abandoned environmentalists’ most aggressive proposal for reducing dependence on fossil fuels — one that would have outlawed fossil fuel-based heating systems in new buildings. That change came even though a state climate change commission, including three members of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s cabinet, overwhelmingly endorsed such a ban.