Massachusetts was a leader in the fight against climate change, but now it’s not.

If Massachusetts wants to get back to the top, we need to take action, and we need to take it now.There are 294 towns and 57 cities in the Commonwealth, each of them needs a renewable energy program.

Climate change is the biggest crisis of current and future generations. Renewable energy must be the energy of the future. If not, the climate will continue to rise, animals will continue to go extinct, and economies will collapse.

These programs change the energy sources of consumers from fossil fuels to renewable energy(solar, wind, hydro, etc.) In the Town of Wellesley, the “Voluntary Renewable Energy Program”,or VREP, gives residents the option to have 50% or 100% renewable energy used in their homes. However, in June, the Wellesley Town Meeting passed an article to enroll all of the town’s electricity customers in the VREP, effective January 1, 2021. Ultimately, making it an opt-out program.

The need for renewable energy programs in Massachusetts is a large one. These programs do not require the installation of solar panels or anything else of the kind. All it takes is the click of a button, a couple of forms, and that’s it. Renewable energy is easier to access if we make it available.

Our Commonwealth has experienced a temperature rise of 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Animals are going extinct, the forests are being cut down, but the least our leaders can do is give us an option to prevent further damage done by this terrible crisis. Massachusetts will eventually experience, firsthand, the terrible effects of climate change. Places like the Cape & the Islands, Duxbury, Rockport, and Gloucester will have the worst of it.

Renewable energy is one of our only ways out of this crisis. We must use it while we can, all we need is an option for the people. No state-mandated regulations, no forced programs, just an option. However, these programs need to be advertised. Wellesley’s only promotion of their renewable energy program was to put it in the fine print of residents’ energy bills.

All we need is for every town and city in Massachusetts to do the right thing and attempt to affect real change in the world.

By Kourosh Farboodmanesh (a Wellesley resident and 7th grader attending Wellan Montessori School in Newton).