Year in Review: Partnering to Advance Climate Mitigation and Resilience Across Our Region
December 20, 2024 – In 2024, we worked across our region and the state to advance local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to prepare communities for coastal and inland flooding, drought, extreme heat, and other climate change impacts. It is our privilege to partner with you and your community members to update local regulations, develop regional plans, create new resources, conduct innovative outreach efforts to reach underrepresented voices, and advocate for key municipal priorities at the state level. In this blog post, we walk through some of those exciting milestones from throughout the year.
January
To kick off 2024, MAPC's Accelerating Climate Resilience (ACR) Grant Program awarded its fourth round of grants. Supported by the Barr Foundation, ACR helps municipalities move from planning to implementing projects that build community resilience to climate impacts. Over the past five years, ACR has provided nearly $2.7 million to 55 pilot projects in over 40 communities. ACR also hosts a Speaker Series featuring conversations on climate communications, equitable engagement, and more.
In the early winter months, MAPC's Public Health team also worked with staff from Framingham, Ashland, and Natick and their resident Community Climate Liaisons to design and share materials about winter climate emergency preparedness. Part of the Metro West Climate Equity Project, the effort builds on successful resident-led outreach about extreme heat in previous summers.
February
In February, MAPC, in partnership with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Conservation, began a state-wide flood vulnerability assessment focused on Environmental Justice communities. The project convenes a Flood Impact Advisory Committee, comprised of community-based organizations, to shape the project's community engagement approach. In 2025, the team will work with four pilot communities and coordinating Regional Planning Agencies to co-create flood mitigation solutions.
March
MAPC submitted the Greater Boston Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) to the Environmental Protection Agency on March 31. The PCAP serves as the region's near-term plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the building, energy generation, transportation, and waste sectors and was shaped by input from MAPC’s Regional Planning Agency Steering Committee, Justice40 and Municipal Advisory Groups, and additional outreach. MAPC is conducting analysis and engagement to shape the comprehensive Greater Boston Climate Action Plan (GBCAP), which includes additional actions, especially in the industry and agricultural and working lands sectors, by December 2025.
The state Commission on Clean Energy Siting and Permitting, which included MAPC Deputy Executive Director Lizzi Weyant, submitted its recommendations to the Governor. These recommendations informed draft legislation filed by the Governor, which were ultimately acted upon with some modifications by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor in mid-November as part of An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers (S.2967).
April
April marked the launch of stakeholder engagement for the statewide Municipal Climate Resilience Playbook. Funded by the Barr Foundation, the Playbook is modeled after MAPC's Net Zero Playbook and aims to help local governments move from planning to implementing climate resilience projects and to work with community partners to center on-the-ground priorities. Working with the state's Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness team and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, MAPC led a survey and 14 focus groups to gather input on the resource format and content from municipal staff and community partners. The online tool, which will be released in 2025, will include a searchable list of municipal actions to advance climate resilience. Thirty of the 200+ actions will have more detailed implementation blueprints with information such as key steps and case studies.
May
Staff from the Clean Energy, Environment, Data Services, and Strategic Initiatives attended the National Adaptation Forum in St. Paul, MN, presenting posters on the Accelerating Climate Resilience program, Green Stormwater Infrastructure Siting Tool, and Climate Resilience Playbook.
June
In June, MAPC launched a suite of tools and resources to support municipalities and other property owners in the Greater Boston area in installing cool roofs to address extreme heat in residential and commercial buildings. The resources, funded by an MVP Action Grant that MAPC received on behalf of the Metro Mayors Climate Taskforce, include translated flyers and social media assets tailored for different audiences, webinars, FAQs, blogs spotlighting local examples of cool roof installations, and an online Cool Roof Suitability Map.
At the start of the summer, MAPC’s Public Health team also published template policy language that schools can use to address air quality and extreme heat in schools developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards.
July
Throughout 2024, MAPC worked on Hazard Mitigation Plans for five coastal communities: Essex; Swampscott; Winthrop; Hull; and Duxbury. These plans include proposed mitigation and resilience actions to address coastal storm surges, sea level rise, and other climate threats. Some may be eligible for funding from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant or other technical assistance from the state for implementation.
August
Ahead of its 10-year anniversary in 2025, the Metro Mayors Climate Taskforce (MMCTF), a regional coalition of 17 municipalities in the metropolitan Boston region, revisited its shared vision and strategic priorities to advance climate goals in the region. In the past 10 years, MMCTF has worked to build capacity to address shared climate challenges with the goal of becoming a more resilient and net-zero region by 2050.
September
In September, the City of Malden published its first Climate Action Plan, a strategic roadmap for the city to achieve net zero in buildings and energy, accelerate sustainable transportation, mitigate heat and flooding impacts, and enhance community resilience. MAPC worked with Malden to conduct robust community engagement with community members, students, local organizations, and a resident-led steering committee and to develop the key actions in the plan.
October
October began with the launch of MAPC's Municipal Solar + Storage Resource Guide, which includes guidance on selecting solar + storage locations, funding opportunities and contract structures, and local case studies. The Guide was formally launched through a webinar with speakers from projects in Beverly, Wayland, Sharon and Fairhaven sharing their experiences and lessons learned.
As part of the federally-funded Good Jobs Metro Boston Coalition, the Clean Energy team helped to host a Student-Employer Meet and Greet to connect clean energy students enrolled in Boston trade training programs with high-quality heat pump installation, weatherization, and renewable energy companies.
November
MAPC is supporting the design and implementation of the Electrify Everett program, a partnership between the City of Everett, La Comunidad Inc., and several other community-based organizations to promote energy efficiency and building electrification by addressing the linguistic, cultural, and building ownership barriers to participating in Mass Save. MAPC worked with the City and its partners to develop Everett’s Phase 2 submission to the Department of Energy’s BuildingsUP Prize. In November, Everett was one of the first awardees selected to an additional $400,000 from BuildingsUP to implement the pilot phase of Electrify Everett.
Following the submission of the final Mass Save Three-Year 2025-2027 Plan, MAPC hosted a listening session with municipalities across the state and delivered public comment to the Department of Public Utilities to uplift municipal priorities including increased funding for community outreach efforts, data transparency and sharing, and funding for low- and moderate-income households. MAPC closely followed the multi-year planning process and held additional listening sessions and conversations with cities and towns and community-based organizations at key points in the process.
December
MAPC staff from the Environment and Land Use departments assisted several communities in revising their existing bylaws to address resilience and flooding. In the Town of Cohasset, after updates and approval by the Planning Board, Town Council, and the State, the Floodplain Bylaw amendment passed unanimously in a December Special Town Meeting.
Many initiatives, such as MAPC's Electric Vehicle Working Group, will continue into 2025. The working group had its final meeting of 2024 in December, where speakers discussed electric landscaping equipment and regulations, electric trash trucks, and electric vehicle and infrastructure procurement updates. Throughout the year, the group also covered the City of Boston’s work to scale curbside charging, medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, and more.
In 2024, MAPC continued to co-facilitate the North Shore Water Resilience Task Force, a regional initiative to address the resilience of the Ipswich River watershed, which suffers from chronic low flow in the summer months. Following the major drought of 2016, community leaders and water supply officials, along with the Ipswich River Watershed Association, were convened by Senator Bruce Tarr to explore options for collaborative actions to address the problem. This year, MAPC oversaw detailed technical analyses of hydrologic conditions and an assessment of potential alternative water supply options to enhance resiliency of the watershed. The Task Force is now preparing for the next phase which will focus on selecting and implementing the most favorable water supply option(s).
Thank you to all of our partners and colleagues who made all of our work possible in 2024. MAPC is ready to continue advancing our vital climate change mitigation and resilience work in partnership with municipalities in our region and partners across the Commonwealth. We look forward to collaborating with you in 2025!