Massachusetts Municipal Climate Leadership
Across Massachusetts, individual cities and towns are taking action to fight climate change. These actions, referred to here as municipal climate actions, are a key component to achieving the emissions reductions necessary for a safe future.
This website documents, for the first time, the climate actions of over 220 municipalities in Massachusetts. While this represents just a sample of the state’s 351 municipalities, we expect that these findings will inspire further research and will empower citizens and leaders across the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This website is a project of the Sierra Club Massachusetts Climate Research Team. Learn more about the team in our “About Us” section below.
Municipal climate actions are greenhouse gas reducing measures enacted by municipal governments. Most emissions in Massachusetts come from transportation, buildings, and electricity production. Accordingly, we documented municipal actions in the transportation and building sectors, as well as renewable energy and waste management.
We also documented two additional categories for every municipality: leadership and environmental justice. Leadership identifies the systems and resources that municipalities have put in place to facilitate climate actions. Environmental justice identifies municipalities with vulnerable communities and known pollution or high emissions risks.
Not only do these municipal initiatives help Massachusetts to meet its ambitious climate goals, but they also provide larger societal benefits. By implementing measures such as building upgrades and improved infrastructure for walking and biking, municipalities can lower air pollution and improve public health in their communities. Many of these initiatives can create good local jobs, spur economic development in the state, and decrease municipal and resident costs. Additionally, these initiatives can help provide clean and affordable energy for all, promoting equity and energy democratization.
Municipal governments have unique qualities that set them apart from state and federal systems. They are directly accountable to, and easily accessed by, their constituents. Municipal governments’ actions are immediately visible in their communities, and they can engage their residents in climate solutions in a way that is accessible and interactive.
Massachusetts has been a leader on climate policy since 2008 when the state legislature passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, committing the commonwealth to a 80% reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. Recognizing the need to take greater action, citizens and organizations have successfully advocated to expand that goal to net zero emissions by 2050, and recent updates to the plan commit the commonwealth to a 50% reduction by 2030 and 75% reduction by 2040.
Also in 2008, the state passed the Green Communities Act. In addition to other energy reduction initiatives, the Act established the Green Communities Designation & Grant Program, which provides grant funding and direction for municipal energy efficiency projects. In 2017, the commonwealth took another large step in supporting municipal action against climate change by establishing the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Program, which helps cities and towns assess and take action for climate change resilience.
As of January 1, 2024, the team has collected data from 338 municipalities across Massachusetts. Over 75% of the Massachusetts population is currently represented in our database. We selected municipalities to reflect a range of population sizes and geographic diversity around the state. Data were collected from town websites and local news outlets, as well as through occasional conversations with municipal leaders. We recognize that different policies and solutions work for different communities, and that municipalities may be taking important actions other than those summarized here.
The Massachusetts Sierra Club Climate Research Team compiles and presents data about the progress that municipalities across Massachusetts have made toward implementing environmental sustainability policies. Additionally, the team advocates for the adoption of equitable sustainability policies at the state level through educating and collaborating with municipal leaders and other partners. Our team does not provide specialized solutions for each municipality, but our research is intended to inform and persuade the leaders and stakeholders who can enact these policies.
Credits:
Jacob Stern, Yan Gao, Emma Brown, Corrin Moss, Mallorie Barber, Luis Roldan, Brooke Van Ackooy, Claire Sullivan, Caleb Demers, Daniel McCarthy, Aileen McDonald, Evan Dent, Catie Murphy, Tara McElhinney, Leslie Nava, Megan Krause, Avril Teo, Andrew Vitvitsky, Malcolm Johnson, Henry Frishman
Special thank you to the Barr Foundation for their generous funding for this project.
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