Report  2024 Massachusetts Climate Report Card

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) is releasing the second annual Massachusetts Climate Report Card to assess progress in the past 12 months, provide transparency to the public, and identify interventions needed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to climate impacts. Massachusetts has advanced some of the strongest climate policies nationwide and has made significant progress in the past year, including securing unprecedented federal funds, advancing clean energy infrastructure siting and permitting reforms, significantly increasing the pace of heat pump installations and building weatherization, and expanding state and local investments in climate resilience. Nevertheless, the most challenging period for climate action through 2050 remains 2025-2030, when the sharpest emissions reductions are expected and climate change impacts become more intense.

As in many states, macroeconomic conditions, resource limitations, and project delays in the past 12 months will make meeting 2025 and 2030 power sector targets more challenging. Such delays affect the transportation and building sectors, which rely on clean energy to reduce emissions as these sectors electrify. Massachusetts is committed to addressing these challenges and continues to enhance existing programs, secure federal funding, collaborate with partner states, and develop innovative approaches. Massachusetts coordinated with other states to select projects for offshore wind procurement, and Governor Healey signed into law legislation to enact clean energy siting and permitting reforms and expand clean energy procurement authority. Massachusetts has also made significant progress implementing actions under the ResilientMass Plan adopted in October 2023. Yet as flooding and heat increasingly affect the state, additional resources for projects that reduce damages from climate hazards are needed. Finally, the Commonwealth is increasingly centering environmental justice and equity in its climate action as it implements EEA’s newly adopted Environmental Justice Strategy.

Since 2022, Massachusetts has received approximately $2.9 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to advance decarbonization and resilience. The next two years will focus on implementation and deployment of these initiatives in concert with existing state programs. Although the transition of the federal government may lead to reductions in future federal funding or alter climate policies, Massachusetts will continue to pursue available opportunities across all sectors and design and deploy nation-leading decarbonization, resilience, and environmental justice programs. This will require additional interventions to maintain progress toward future greenhouse gas emissions limits and further enable the Commonwealth to adapt to climate impacts.