Northeast

Maine

Maine was the first state to set greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2003, and emissions decreased by 74% between 1990 and 2021. The transportation sector is driving the state’s emissions, primarily due to the geographically spread-out population. Long winters place the residential sector’s emissions closely behind transportation, as buildings require significant heating in the state’s colder months.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 1990 levels

2030

45%

2045

Carbon neutral

Governor

Janet T. Mills (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Majority

Senate Party

Democratic Majority

Legislative session

1/3/24 - 4/17/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

27

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

35

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

Northeast

9 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013. Establishing Policies Maine State Energy Code (2020)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2020
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2015 IECC. Establishing Policies Maine State Energy Code (2020)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2020
Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) Stretch Code incorporates 2021 IECC and certain appendices. Establishing Policies LD 1543 (2019) Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) Stretch Code (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2021
Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column Maine’s Appliance Efficiency Standards apply to 8 products. Establishing Policies L.D. 940 (2021) 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 180 (2021) Appliance Efficiency Standards	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2021
Not Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Electric utilities are required to achieve energy savings equivalent to 175,115 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2023, 143,993 MWh in 2024, and 145,035 MWh in 2025. Gas utilities are required to achieve energy savings equivalent to 135,389 million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2023, 78,776 MMBtu in 2024, and 77,907 MMBtu in 2025. Establishing Policies Docket 2021-00380 (2021) Triennial Plan FY 2023-25 (2022)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2022
Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Maine has enacted residential and commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs. Establishing Policies LD 340 (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2021
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in Maine Policy Components not-enacted enacted not-enacted enacted 2/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

Maine

Key Offices & Links

27

35

Northeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Maine