BOSTON – State officials recently released a Climate Report Card assessing the state’s progress in meeting its climate goals.
The report, recommended by Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, indicates strong progress toward meeting the greenhouse gas emissions target for 2025 as part of the 2025/2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan, which seeks to reduce such emissions to 25 percent below the 1990 baseline emission level in accordance with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008.
Despite the encouraging news for 2025, however, the report also indicates that significant changes are needed to meet the 50 percent reduction target for 2030.
The report cited inflation, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages as the largest obstacles to meeting the targets, which climate scientists say are essential to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
Policy recommendations include ramping up electric vehicle adoption and increased public transportation in the transportation sector, a Clean Heat Standard and assistance to decarbonize the buildings sector, and further procurements in clean energy in the power sector.
The report also stressed reversing the loss of undeveloped land and forests, securing funding for conservation, and balancing land-use needs, as crucial.
“The Climate Report Card tells the story of where we are and where we need to go to protect our communities in the face of mounting extreme weather,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper.
“As Massachusetts makes progress and faces challenges in implementing our climate vision, it’s important that we follow the science and stay transparent about our progress. The Climate Report Card offers a window into the state’s advancement to date and a roadmap as we go forward.”
Due to data availability, emission estimates are published with a two- to three-year lag, meaning the most recent complete data set is from 2020.
To view the report, click here.
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