After negotiations extending well past the end of the formal legislative session, Massachusetts lawmakers are nearing passage of a wide-ranging climate and energy bill.

In a reflection of broader disagreements across the New England energy landscape, speakers at a Northeast energy conference presented divergent visions of the future role of natural gas.

“The clock is ticking,” Sen. Mike Barrett, Senate co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, told NetZero Insider.