Boston releases its 2030 Climate Action Plan

The plan provides concrete metrics and goals across key areas of climate action, including buildings, transportation, energy, workforce development, coastal resilience, and protection from extreme weather.

Climate justice is a key component of this initiative, as underserved communities will disproportionately experience the greatest impacts of climate change. The City of Boston prioritised community engagement in its environmental justice communities, designed the plan incorporating their current and future needs, and will implement strategies to ensure that every neighbourhood receives the public health, economic, and resilience benefits of climate action.

“Fighting climate change provides a generational opportunity to create good-paying jobs, more affordable energy, cleaner air, and safer streets”

Highlights of the Plan include:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Boston is on track to reduce emissions by 48 per cent by 2030 through full implementation of its existing programmes and policies. The plan builds on this trajectory, outlining additional actions needed to reach the City’s 50 per cent by 2030 reduction target while simultaneously reducing energy costs for Boston residents and businesses
• Protecting Boston from sea-level rise and extreme weather: New England’s regional prosperity depends on Boston’s critical infrastructure, including world-class hospitals and universities, its highway and rail network, and local food systems. The plan includes strategies to protect these regional assets and vulnerable neighbourhoods alike, outlining steps to screen City capital projects for future climate risk; protect residents from flood pathways; reduce heat-related injuries; and ensure that every Boston neighbourhood has certified Community Emergency Response Teams
• Building a green workforce: the strategies outlined in this plan are expected to support approximately 67,000 full-time jobs annually. The City will work to strengthen training pipelines and expand access to high-quality green jobs through leveraging City procurement policies, Project Labour Agreements, and programmes like PowerCorps Boston
• Tracking Boston’s progress: the plan includes 22 metrics that the City will track over the next five years through the Climate Action Plan Implementation Dashboard. These metrics measure progress towards the City’s goals and how residents and businesses benefit from climate action. As implementation progresses and more data becomes available, additional metrics will be incorporated over time. These metrics include monitoring:
• Buildings that meet Net Zero Carbon Zoning, Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District, and Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (Berdo) standards
• Heat pumps installed and weatherisation projects completed
• Energy cost-savings from residents and businesses enrolled in Boston Community Choice Electricity
• Street and park tree plantings to provide cooling benefits
• Public transit and Bluebikes ridership
• Number of residents graduated from the City’s climate job training programmes, and more.

The community Climate Action Plan launch event included remarks from mayor Wu, leadership from the City’s Environment, Energy, and Open Space Cabinet, and community and institutional partners. Hosted in partnership with Tree Eastie, a Climate Action Plan community partner, the gathering included a ceremonial planting of 10 trees in East Boston to improve the neighbourhood’s tree canopy and local resilience to extreme heat.

“This Plan is the most ambitious climate action agenda in our city’s history,” said Hessann Farooqi, Executive Director of the Boston Climate Action Network. “I am proud mayor Wu is doubling down on climate action that not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, but also lowers energy bills, creates jobs and business opportunities, and improves health. I am also grateful to the many organisations and residents who informed this plan, including the members of BCAN.”

Read the full Climate Action Plan here.

Meanwhile, the Boston Climate Leaders Awards evening united a diverse coalition of community advocates, business leaders, and civic partners to celebrate excellence in five key areas: buildings, energy, environmental protection, climate preparedness, and research and innovation. The winners can be found at Boston Climate Leaders Awards.