Home to a population of over 1.4 million, Maine remains one of the least populated states in the nation. However, what it lacks in population, it makes up for in size. Maine has a total area of approximately 33,215 square miles, almost as large as all of the other New England states combined. Maine is rightly called the Pine Tree State. With deciduous forests in the south and boreal forests in the north, 90% of Maine’s land is tree-covered. Though it’s usually thought of for its lobsters, Maine actually supplies 99% of the nation’s blueberries!
Temperatures in the state have been steadily rising since records began in 1890 -- almost 3.5 degrees (F) over the last century, and the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1998. The average temperature in northern and eastern Maine set a new record high (44.7F) in 2024. Rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine is even threatening Maine’s iconic wild blueberries. Warming, severe droughts, and extreme weather contributed to industry losses of $30 million in 2025.
Maine is also getting wetter with precipitation increasing by 15% since 1895, coming in the form of more rain and less snow. Flooding, wind, and other consequences of this weather have caused significant damage to roads, bridges, and properties. In December 2023 and January 2024 a series of severe winter storms hit Maine, causing an estimated $90 million in damage. The storm in December, dubbed the “Grinch Storm,” brought the worst river flooding in Maine since the 19th century, and was declared a major disaster by President Biden.
Maine’s shorter winters and more extreme rain events are associated with greater tick and mosquito activity and abundance. With more of these insects comes more insect-transmitted disease not just affecting humans, but also harming populations of endangered species such as Maine moose. Cases of Lyme disease are already increasing in Maine, as ticks can survive further north.
The Gulf of Maine is especially susceptible to fluctuations in sea level due to alterations in the strength of the Gulf Stream and seasonal wind patterns. Maine has already experienced eight inches of sea level rise, and is expected to experience 1.5 more feet by 2050 and 4 more feet by 2100. High sea levels also mean more coastal flooding, which is currently threatening an estimated 198 miles of Maine roadway and more than 1,200 homes. The risk of storm surge extends many miles inland from the immediate coastline in some areas. More than 20 percent of flood insurance claims come from outside high-risk areas, and even people living in “low risk” areas have been advised to obtain flood insurance. The Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than 97% of the world’s oceans, experienced record high sea levels in 2023, and could experience ocean acidification unfavorable for shell growth by 2050.
The Maine Climate Council’s Scientific and Technical Subcommittee released a comprehensive report on Climate Change in Maine in June 2024 concluding that “Maine’s climate continues to change in part because of human activity, and that Maine people are already feeling the impacts of extreme storms, hotter summers, shorter winters, and higher seas, all of which threaten ecosystems and human health. It also tells us that Mainers experience climate change differently depending on where they live and the financial and community resources they have to prepare for and adapt to climate impacts.” An Interim Climate Science Report followed in 2026, emphasizing how wet and dry conditions continue to become more extreme, with increased precipitation paired with more severe droughts, and residents are increasingly experiencing health impacts, including heat-related illnesses, tick-borne diseases, and poor air quality. The report also notes that recent cooling in the Gulf of Maine in 2024-25 should be seen as a pause in warming, rather than a reversal.
There are no fossil fuel energy reserves in the state, and it is among the 10 states with the lowest coal consumption and the fifth-lowest natural gas use per capita. Generating less electricity than all but five other states, Maine’s electricity generation has decreased 30% in the last two decades. Previously as much as two-fifths of its electricity generation was nuclear, but its sole nuclear power plant shut down in 1997 and petroleum has also declined to less than 1%. In 2024, natural gas contributed 41% of the state’s total electricity generation and coal contributed the lowest amount to date at 0.2%. Renewable resources generated 57% of electricity in 2024, largely from hydropower, wind and solar.
Maine is 15th in the nation for hydroelectric generation (hydropower contributed 32% of renewables in 2024) and 11th in the nation for wind power (27% of renewables in 2024). Maine’s wind energy contributes roughly 70% of all wind-powered generation in New England. By October 2025, Maine had 1,214 megawatts of onshore wind generating capacity, including the Bingham Wind Project which began operating in 2016. The state’s greatest wind resources are offshore but there are currently no active offshore wind projects, and in June 2026, energy company Invenergy gave up the leases for two offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine in a deal with the Trump administration to invest in fossil fuel projects instead. In 2024, solar energy supplied 13% of the state’s renewable generation (22% of renewable generation, a rise from 1% in 2019). Both utility-scale and small-scale solar projects are growing in Maine: all 142 utility-scale solar power facilities have come online since 2017, and generation from small scale solar sited panels grew 61% from 2023 to 2024. Finally, biomass contributed 10% of the state’s total electricity generation, the second highest biomass percentage after Vermont.
Maine is one of twenty-four states, plus Puerto Rico, participating in the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
After the Trump administration halted the public reporting of emissions data, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is working with the U.S. Climate Alliance and University of Maryland to publish greenhouse gas pollution data, vital for Maine’s state law on publishing a biannual greenhouse gas inventory.
Check out this Climate Justice Crash Course from Maine Climate Action Now, written and illustrated mostly by youth activists and artists. Maine Climate Action Now (MCAN) is a coalition of organizations advocating for transformative climate justice in Maine, including A Climate to Thrive, Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Sierra Club Maine, partnering with Defend Our Health, Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition, Slingshot, Third Act Maine, and more. MCAN’s broad, intersectional agenda calls for tribal sovereignty for Wabanaki Nations, increasing public transportation, immigrant rights, affordable climate-friendly housing, fossil fuel divestment, and a constitutional amendment protecting the right to a healthy environment; they also track specific bills moving through the legislature. See the tracker for Maine’s 2026 Legislative Session here.
In May 2026, a coalition of 17 environmental groups published a five-year policy guide, Meeting the Moment, calling for Wabakani-led land returns and restoration of self-governance, a legal mandate for 100% clean energy by 2040, phaseout of synthetic pesticides, and land conservation. Meeting the Moment advocates for more legal mandates and actionable policy priorities, compared to Maine Won’t Wait’s emphasis on voluntary goals.
