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

45

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 7 policy areas

17

Policy Opportunities
across 5 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 Massachusetts

Created in partnership with
Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Enacted
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33% by 2025 | 50% by 2030 | 75% by 2040 | 85% and net-zero by 2050

Relative to 1990 levels

Establishing Policies
Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2021
Enacted
Empty column

2025 and 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan

2050 Clean Energy and Climate Plan

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2022
Enacted
Empty column

The 1990-2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory was published in March 2023.

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2023
Enacted
Empty column

Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2023
Enacted
Empty column

Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) Implementation Advisory Committee

Climate Governance and Equity
Climate Governance 2012
Enacted
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"Environmental justice populations" are neighborhoods where the median household income is 65% or less of the statewide median, minorities comprise 40% or more of the population, 25% or more of households lack English proficiency, or minorities comprise 25% of the population and the median household income does not exceed 150%.

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity 2021
Enacted
Empty column

Massachusetts 2020 EJ Populations

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity 2020
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
Enacted
Empty column

EEA – Environmental Justice Task Force

EEA – Undersecretary of Environmental Justice & Equity

EEA – Director and Deputy Director of Environmental Justice

DEP – Director of Environmental Justice

DPU – Environmental Justice Contact

Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Enacted
Empty column

Environmental Justice Council

Establishing Policies
Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Enacted
Empty column

Requires certain facilities seeking air emissions permits in or near communities with EJ populations to conduct a cumulative impact analysis that includes meaningful public involvement of EJ populations.

Establishing Policies
Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity 2024
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
Enacted
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Office of Energy Transformation within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition 2024
Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition 2024
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

Massachusetts Community Climate Bank

Cross-Sector
Climate Finance 2023
Enacted
Empty column

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

Cross-Sector
Carbon Valuation 2007
Enacted
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The Department of Public Utilities must consider the social cost of carbon when assessing the cost effectiveness of energy efficiency and demand-reduction programs, and when issuing funding for energy efficiency programs.

Establishing Policies
Cross-Sector
Carbon Valuation 2021
Enacted
Empty column

40% renewable energy by 2030

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2021
Enacted
Empty column

53% reduction by 2025 | 70% by 2030 | 93% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2021
Enacted
Empty column

Energy Pathways to Deep Decarbonization

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
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
8/11
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
not-enacted
enacted
4/6
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Enacted
Empty column

Massachusetts has an active community choice aggregation program.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation 1997
Enacted
Empty column

200 megawatts (MW) of storage capacity by 2020 and 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) by 2025

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2018
Enacted
Empty column

Massachusetts received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2023
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.

Electricity
Coal Retirement
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 2021 IECC.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2022
Enacted
Empty column

The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2021 IECC.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2022
Enacted
Empty column

The Stretch Energy Code is 2021 IECC with Massachusetts amendments, and the Specialized Code is a municipal opt-in code that is designed to ensure new construction is consistent with the state's target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2023
Enacted
Empty column

The Appliance Efficiency Standards apply to 15 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 reduce cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 504,000 metric tons for 2022-2024.

Gas utilities are required to reduce cumulative GHG emissions by 341,000 metric tons for 2022-2024.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency 2021
Enacted
Empty column

Massachusetts has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs.

Establishing Policies
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency 2016
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
4/4
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
Empty column

Massachusetts LEV Program

Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles 2022
Enacted
Empty column

Model Year (MY) 2026: 35% of new passenger vehicle sales are ZEVs | MY 2030: 68% of new sales are ZEVs | MY 2035: 100% of new sales are ZEVs, with up to 20% being hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles 2022
Enacted
Empty column

The Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) Program offers rebates for new and used electric vehicles (EVs): up to $3,500 for new or used battery and fuel cell EVs, and an additional $1,500 rebate for income-qualifying applicants.

Transportation
Light-Duty Vehicles 2014
Enacted
Empty column

The Low NOx Omnibus Rule applies to Model Year 2025 onwards.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles 2021
Enacted
Empty column

By 2035: 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales are zero-emissions | 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales are zero-emissions | 40% of Class 7-8 tractor sales are zero-emissions.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles 2022
Enacted
Empty column

The Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) Program provides rebates of up to $7,500 for new battery or fuel-cell electric pickup trucks and other Class 2b vehicles, with additional rebates for income qualifying drivers. Rebates between $15,000 and $90,000 are offered for medium- and heavy-duty battery electric and fuel cell Class 3-8 vehicles, depending on vehicle class.

Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles 2014
Enacted
Empty column

5% of the state fleet are ZEVs by 2025 | 20% are ZEVS by 2030 | 75% are ZEVs by 2040 | 100% are ZEVs by 2050

Establishing Policies
Transportation
Lead by Example 2021
Enacted
Empty column

100% of transit bus purchases by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) are zero-emission by 2030 | 100% of MBTA's transit bus fleet are zero-emission by 2040

Establishing Policies
Transportation
Lead by Example 2022
Enacted
Empty column

Requires at least one EV supply equipment (EVSE) charging port in new or fully reconstructed parking areas with up to 25 spaces and two ports in parking areas greater than 25 spaces; also requires at least 20% of parking spaces to be EV Ready in parking areas with 10+ spaces.

Establishing Policies
Transportation
EV Charging Infrastructure 2021
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
Enacted
Empty column

18% by 2025 | 34% by 2030 | 86% by 2050

Relative to 1990 levels

Establishing Policies
Transportation
Transportation Plans and Targets 2021
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

Massachusetts is ranked 1st out of 50 in the 2022 Bicycle Friendly State rankings by the League of American Bicyclists.

Policy Components
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
4/5
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 refrigeration equipment, air conditioning chillers, aerosol propellants, and foams that are manufactured or used in Massachusetts.

Establishing Policies
Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
F-gas Regulations 2020
Enacted
Empty column

The state sets a maximum annual SF6 leak rate of 1%, and requires owners to maintain their equipment in accordance with industry standards to reduce leakage of SF6.

Establishing Policies
Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
F-gas Regulations 2017
Enacted
Empty column

Natural gas operators must meet annual declining methane emission limits.

Establishing Policies
Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Oil and Gas Regulations 2021
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
Enacted
Empty column

Food waste ban – The state requires businesses and institutions that generate more than 0.5 tons of food waste per week to dispose of organic material via composting or anaerobic digestion.

Establishing Policies
Industry, Materials, and Waste Management
Waste Management 2014
Enacted
Empty column

The Massachusetts Coordinated Soil Health Program supports produce and dairy farmers in implementing soil health practices.

Natural and Working Lands
Agriculture 2021
Enacted
Empty column

The Healthy Soils Farmer Consultant Program provides farmers who are newly adopting healthy soils practices with access to farmers who are experts in specific healthy soils practices, while compensating experienced farmers fairly for their time.

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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