Northeast

Massachusetts

Massachusetts has experienced a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990-2021. The state is home to almost half of the residents in New England and it consumes more than 17 times the amount of energy it produces, although it has the fourth lowest per-capita emissions. Since the largest contributors to the state’s GDP (finance, insurance, real estate, and professional and business services) are not energy-intensive, Massachusetts is ranked 49th in energy used per dollar of GDP, less than any other state besides New York.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2025 :

33%

2030 :

50%

2040 :

75%

2050 :

85%

2050 :

Net-zero

Governor

Maura Healey (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Supermajority

Senate Party

Democratic Supermajority

Legislative session

1/3/24 - 7/31/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

45

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

17

Policy Opportunities

across 5 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	Clean Energy and Renewable Portfolio Standards Empty column 40% renewable energy by 2030 Establishing Policies S.9 (2021)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2021
Enacted	Electricity Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets Empty column 53% reduction by 2025 \| 70% by 2030 \| 93% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels Establishing Policies S.9 (2021)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2021
Enacted	Clean Energy Plans Empty column Energy Pathways to Deep Decarbonization Establishing Policies Global Warming Solutions Act (2008) Energy Pathways to Deep Decarbonization (2020)	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2020
Enacted	Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out 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 - Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out in Massachusetts Policy Components enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted 5/5	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Net Metering 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 - Net Metering in Massachusetts SPOT - Aggregate Net Metering in Massachusetts Policy Components enacted enacted enacted enacted not-enacted enacted enacted enacted not-enacted enacted not-enacted 8/11	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted	Shared Renewables 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 - Shared Renewables in Massachusetts Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted enacted 4/6	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Enacted	Community Choice Aggregation Empty column Massachusetts has an active community choice aggregation program. Establishing Policies Acts of 1997 Chapter 164 (1997)	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation	1997
Enacted	Energy Storage Targets Empty column 200 megawatts (MW) of storage capacity by 2020 and 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) by 2025 Establishing Policies H.4857 (2018)	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2018
Enacted	Interconnection Standards Empty column Massachusetts received a C grade from Freeing the Grid. Establishing Policies Freeing the Grid Massachusetts Grade (2023)	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2023
Not Enacted	Coal Phaseouts Empty column Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.	Electricity	Coal Retirement
Not Enacted	Coal Plant Securitization Empty column Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.	Electricity	Coal Retirement

Massachusetts

Key Offices & Links

45

17

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 Massachusetts