Special to the Journal
Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe joined mayors and managers from 17 municipalities at the Museum of Science Monday to commit to new regional climate goals, guiding the next five to ten years of shared action while meeting the challenges of the current moment. The Metro Mayors Coalition invited legislative leaders, heads of regional authorities, and state officials to join them in committing to the vital tasks of climate preparedness and building a more resilient and sustainable region. The Coalition formally signed the new commitment together, which envisions a net zero region by 2050 and outlines actions to partner with the state to achieve 50 percent emissions reductions by 2030.
The communities include Revere, Arlington, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Malden, Melrose, Medford, Newton, Quincy, Somerville, Watertown, and Winthrop.
Mayor Keefe said, “Our priority is always the safety and well-being of our residents. We’re taking pro-active steps to protect them from coastal storm surges, including investing in infrastructure, developing evacuation plans, and educating residents about preparedness.”
Keefe added, “As a coastal community ignoring the true threat of rising tidal surges, more common chaotic weather events would be ignorant to what science is telling us. Resiliency preparedness is a part of our region’s responsibility, and I’m happy to reaffirm this commitment to our constituents.”
Senator Ed Markey, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper, Department of Public Utilities Commissioner Staci Rubin, and other speakers, panelists, and guests marked the pivotal moment for investing in climate action while celebrating the Coalition’s successes of the past 10 years.
“The climate crisis is immense, but I am confident Massachusetts will meet the urgency of this moment,” said Senator Edward J. Markey. “As the Trump administration seeks to gut federal funding and programs for climate action, I applaud our municipal, state, and community leaders for rededicating themselves to the common cause of a just, livable future for all. I am proud of this close partnership here in Massachusetts—across communities and at all levels of government—and I will continue fighting for the federal support and resources we need to build a resilient, sustainable region for our residents.”
“Our communities are leading the charge to build more clean energy, improve the efficiency of our homes, and prepare for flooding, heat waves, and wildfires,” said Secretary Tepper. “These efforts spring from the ground up. No one understands the impacts or the opportunities that come with clean energy better than our mayors. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is grateful for the partnership we have with cities and towns.”
The Coalition will work to secure state and federal funding to upgrade and safeguard critical infrastructure including the Amelia Earhart and Charles River Dams, which impacts safety across our region. This includes finding solutions for recently cut BRIC funding for the Island End River Resilience Project in Chelsea and Everett, which when built, will protect regionally important infrastructure including the food distribution hub for New England, MBTA community rail stations, and major highways.
The Coalition’s commitment calls for advocating for an energy grid that is prepared to support electrification and clean energy goals, while also sharing the regional burden and respecting the legacy of environmental injustice.
Because existing buildings contribute the largest source of emissions in the region the Coalition urges the Commonwealth to create a large building emissions standard that meets our climate targets and accompany incentives and funding to support retrofits. All residents deserve homes that are prepared for the changing climate, and the Coalition remains committed to the Metro Mayors Housing Task Force’s 2018 goal of building 185,000 new homes in the region by 2030.
“The hard work of achieving our ambitious climate goals can only be realized if we work together and share a vision of resiliency and sustainability for our region,” said Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn, co-chair of the Metro Mayors Coalition. “That’s why it’s so important that as municipal leaders, we come together and recommit our policy goals of becoming a net zero region by 2050 and reducing our emissions by 50 percent by 2030. Thank you to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council for coordinating this important effort and to my colleagues for their promise of a greener future.”
“I am grateful for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council bringing this group of mayors and city managers together to recommit to shared climate goals,” said Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang and co-chair of the Metro Mayors Coalition. “Our collaboration is critical for our success. In Cambridge, we know that regional action is where we can have the most impact and we want to work across our municipal boundaries to most effectively address the climate crisis.”
Since the adoption of the first regional climate commitment in 2015, the Metro Mayors Coalition, which represents 1.6 million residents, has been a leader in planning and implementing climate solutions at the local and regional level. Convened in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, it was broadly recognized that if the storm had hit the region during high tide, Metro Boston would have experienced extreme impacts. A catastrophic extreme weather event, exacerbated by climate change, could happen here, and we need to better prepare and coordinate as a region.
“In challenging times, I’m confident that cities and towns will respond with urgency and rely on each other,” said MAPC Deputy Executive Director Lizzi Weyant. “The Metro Mayors Coalition continues to lead the way on these issues and the strength of these partnerships can serve as a model for all of the communities in our region and our Commonwealth. It is more important than ever to create local solutions to address climate change, and these communities have the will and the commitment to make important and lasting changes.”
The Coalition’s accomplishments include: the establishment of an inter-governmental Climate Taskforce to build municipal capacity, coordination, and collaboration; the adoption of a “Net-Zero by 2050” goal – the first in the nation – and implementation of hundreds of policies and actions to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in our region; the promotion of critical regional infrastructure that must be upgraded to withstand the impacts of climate change; and the development of a first-of-its kind regional extreme heat preparedness and adaptation plan. More details on the Coalition’s community-level projects can be found at mapc.org/our-work-expertise-climate-mmc.
