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 2005 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

27

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 7 policy areas

35

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

Northeast

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

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted
  • In-progress
  • Partially Enacted
  • Not Enacted
Glossary of Terms
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Maine

Created in partnership with
Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

45% by 2030 | Carbon neutral by 2045

Relative to 1990 levels

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2022
Enacted
Empty column

Maine Won't Wait

The state is also required to publish an updated plan by December 1, 2024.

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2020
Enacted
Empty column

The 1990-2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory was published in July 2022.

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2022
Not Enacted
Empty column

Climate bureaucracy consists of dedicated climate offices and staff, interagency working groups, task forces, and other bodies made up of government staff. These bodies are often responsible for writing a state's climate plan and implementing the policies and strategies identified to meet its climate targets.

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance
Enacted
Empty column

Maine Climate Council

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2019
Enacted
Empty column

"Frontline communities" are defined as those people and communities that experience the consequences of climate change first and to a greater degree than others.

The Department of Environmental Protection must also define "environmental justice populations," taking into consideration, at a minimum, median household income, race, ethnicity, and English language proficiency.

Establishing Policies
Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity 2022
Not Enacted
Empty column

Environmental justice (EJ) mapping tools are interactive maps that visualize key EJ concepts, such as demographic information, EJ community definitions, and environmental and public health threats.

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Not Enacted
Empty column

Environmental justice (EJ) community investment requirements help ensure communities most impacted by environmental burdens are benefitting equitably from public programs by requiring a certain percentage of funds and/or benefits from other policies are allocated to EJ communities.

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Not Enacted
Empty column

Environmental justice (EJ) bureaucracy consists of dedicated EJ offices and staff, interagency task forces, and other bodies made up of government staff responsible for developing and implementing EJ policy. These entities are often tasked with integrating EJ and equity into climate policy design and implementation.

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Enacted
Empty column

Equity Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Not Enacted
Empty column

Cumulative impact assessments determine the health and environmental impacts of renewing or granting a permit for certain pollution-generating facilities in environmental justice communities. Increased pollution burdens in communities may result in the permit application being denied.

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Not Enacted
Empty column

Just transition plans are documents that outline policies and recommendations aimed at supporting communities, workers, and industries affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. The plans often focus on workforce development and retraining, job creation, and economic diversification.

Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Not Enacted
Empty column

Just transition offices and staff assist workers and communities transitioning away from fossil fuel extraction and use, typically through retraining programs and support with relocation and economic diversification. Offices and staff also coordinate with other state agencies to effectively design policy to achieve a just transition.

Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Not Enacted
Empty column

Just transition advisory bodies write or advise on a state's just transition plan or report, and make recommendations on ways to support affected workers, communities, and industries. The bodies can consist of all non-government members, or be a mix of government and non-government members.

Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Not Enacted
Empty column

Just transition funds support initiatives and investments aimed at facilitating the equitable transition of workers and communities affected by shifts in industries or policies that transition from fossil fuels.

Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Enacted
Empty column

Efficiency Maine Green Bank

Cross-Sector
Climate Finance 2021
Enacted
Empty column

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) covers the electricity sector.

Cross-Sector
Carbon Valuation 2005
Not Enacted
Empty column

The social cost of carbon is a monetary estimate of the damage of each ton of greenhouse gases emitted. The social cost of carbon is used to quantify and monetize climate damages, representing the net economic cost of climate pollution to society.

Cross-Sector
Carbon Valuation
Enacted
Empty column

80% renewable energy by 2030 | 100% by 2050

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2019
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Enacted
Empty column

Maine Won't Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2020
Enacted
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.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
5/5
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
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.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
6/11
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
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.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
5/6
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.

Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Enacted
Empty column

300 megawatts (MW) of energy storage by 2025 and 400 MW by December 31, 2030

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2021
Enacted
Empty column

Maine received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2023
Enacted
Empty column

Requires 100% renewable electricity by 2050, and does not include energy derived from coal in its definition of renewable electricity.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Coal Retirement 2019
Not Enacted
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
Enacted
Empty column

The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2015 IECC.

Establishing Policies
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2020
Enacted
Empty column

The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013.

Establishing Policies
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2020
Enacted
Empty column

The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) Stretch Code incorporates 2021 IECC and certain appendices.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2021
Enacted
Empty column

Maine’s Appliance Efficiency Standards apply to 8 products.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Standards 2021
Not Enacted
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
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
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.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency 2022
Enacted
Empty column

Maine has enacted residential and commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs.

Establishing Policies
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency 2021
Partially Enacted
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.

Policy Components
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
2/4
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency
Not Enacted
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
Enacted
Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles 2012
Enacted
Empty column

Model Year (MY) 2025: 22% of new passenger vehicle sales are ZEVs.

Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles 2009
Enacted
Empty column

Efficiency Maine's Electric Vehicle (EV) Incentive Program offers point-of-sale rebates for new EVs: up to $2,000 for battery EVs and $1,000 for plug-in hybrid EVs.

Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles
Not Enacted
Empty column

Low NOx Omnibus Rules establish stringent tailpipe emission standards for heavy duty vehicles, updated testing procedures, and technology-neutral compliance mechanisms to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) pollution. The regulation must be adopted first by California, and other states may adopt the regulation under the federal Clean Air Act.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Not Enacted
Empty column

Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) zero-emission vehicle mandates, also known as "Advanced Clean Trucks", require automakers to produce and sell a certain number of zero-emission MHD vehicles to fulfill a quota based on a percentage of total sales in states.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Not Enacted
Empty column

Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicle rebates consist of programs and policies that offer rebates to make MHD electric vehicles more affordable to increase their adoption in a state.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Enacted
Empty column

50% of the state’s new light-duty vehicles are plug-in hybrid or ZEVs by 2025 | 100% are plug-in hybrid or ZEVs by 2030

Establishing Policies
Transportation
Lead by Example 2022
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electric bus procurement targets require that a certain percentage or number of school buses and/or transit buses purchased or leased by the state, transit authorities, and/or school districts must be electric or zero-emissions.

Transportation
Lead by Example
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requirements establish mandates for the installation of EV charging infrastructure in new construction or developments, such as residential or commercial buildings, and public parking lots.

Transportation
EV Charging Infrastructure
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure rebates offer rebates to make the purchase and/or installation costs of EV charging infrastructure more affordable.

Transportation
EV Charging Infrastructure
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electric vehicle (EV) and EV charging infrastructure plans are documents that provide a framework to guide the development, coordination, and adoption of EVs and EV charging infrastructure.

Transportation
Transportation Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

Transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit emissions in the transportation sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by specific amounts over time, often expressed as a percentage reduction from a baseline year.

Transportation
Transportation Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

A low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) is a market-based mechanism to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels and account for the fuel's life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.

Transportation
Transportation Plans and Targets
Partially Enacted
Empty column

Maine is ranked 26th out of 50 in the 2022 Bicycle Friendly State rankings by the League of American Bicyclists.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
3/5
Transportation
Public and Active Transportation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Buy clean requirements mandate or incentivize the use of low-carbon construction materials, such as concrete and steel, in public projects to address embodied carbon.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Industrial Decarbonization
Enacted
Empty column

The state prohibits the use of certain HFCs in specific stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning products that are manufactured or used in Maine.

Establishing Policies
Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
F-gas Regulations 2021
Not Enacted
Empty column

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, bans, or other measures that reduce SF6 usage and emissions.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
F-gas Regulations
Not Enacted
Empty column

Oil and gas methane regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, leak detection and repair, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted
Empty column

Fracking bans prohibit the practice of hydraulic fracking for the production of oil and/or natural gas by a certain year. Legislation often requires an environmental agency or department to promulgate regulations.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted
Empty column

Landfill methane regulations include rulemakings, emissions monitoring, emissions control, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from decaying organic waste in landfills.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Waste Management
Not Enacted
Empty column

Food waste bans and targets include policies that prohibit certain entities that generate specified amounts of food waste (typically commercial businesses and larger institutions) from sending this waste to landfills. Targets aim to reduce total food waste by a certain percentage each target year.

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Waste Management
Enacted
Empty column

The Maine Healthy Soils Program incentivizes healthy soils best practices, and the legislation calls for the program to equitably distribute incentives to beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

Establishing Policies
Natural and Working Lands
Agriculture 2021
Enacted
Empty column

The Maine Healthy Soils Program promotes healthy soils best practices by facilitating peer learning opportunities, education, and outreach.

Establishing Policies
Natural and Working Lands
Agriculture 2021

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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