A group of Maryland environmental advocates is pushing the state to hasten its development of rules that would bolster electric heating systems inside homes, including heat pumps.

Under a June 2024 executive order from Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, the state must establish Clean Heat Rules aimed at reducing air pollution from fossil fuel-burning heating equipment.

State officials said they are progressing toward meeting the goal. But advocates said Thursday they want to see more urgency from the state’s Department of the Environment.

“While the transition to heat pumps is happening, it’s not happening fast enough to meet our climate commitments,” said Anne Havemann, general counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “It’s also not happening equally across income brackets. Right now

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