WATERTOWN, Mass (WBZ NewsRadio) — Gov. Maura Healey visited the clean tech startup Via Separations on Thursday, announcing new research about the economic impacts of her proposed Mass Leads Act, which would invest $1.3 billion in climate technology.
The event took place at Via Separations’ warehouse in Watertown, which used to be a paper mill. The company helps create technology that reduces energy use and industrial waste.
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“We are so proud to be from Massachusetts where the Healey-Driscoll administration is committed to creating, supporting, and developing the climatetech ecosystem for the benefit of all constituents," said Co-founder and CEO Shreya Dave.
She added that they are “solving the biggest challenges, the only way we, in Massachusetts, know how: with humility and resilience.”
Via Separations was used as an example of local businesses that would benefit from Healey’s proposed ClimateTech Initiative as part of the Mass Leads Act.
Healey also discussed new analyses from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
“The UMass Donahue Institute has studied this. And they have found that if you take the $1.3 billion investment in climate technology that we are proposing, we will see a return of $16.4 billion in economic activity over the next 10 years.”
The proposed bill would also create around 7,000 jobs in the state, said Dr. Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at the Donahue Institute.
“Investing in climatetech not only gives us the tools to address climate change and protect our planet – it's also an economic winner that will generate billions of dollars in economic activity and create thousands of jobs,” said Healey.
“Our Mass Leads Act will make Massachusetts the climate innovation lab for the world and strengthen our economy for generations to come.”
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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