Massachusetts covers a total area of 10,555 square miles, making it the 44th-largest (or 7th-smallest) state in the U.S. This total includes 7,801 square miles of land and 2,754 square miles of water. Massachusetts is home to almost half of New England’s residents and is presented with a unique challenge in the fight against the effects of climate change. The state is projected to experience more frequent seasonal droughts, more intense days of high rainfall, more intense and frequent coastal storms, and gradual sea level rise--all of which threaten public health. With most of Massachusetts’s population focused on its east coast, the threat of rising sea levels puts coastal urban centers like Boston in immediate danger. As the sea rises, Boston is losing a vital line of defense against coastal flooding as the cost of 21st century storm damages in Boston alone is projected to be between $5-100 billion. Important industries that Massachusetts relies on such as farming and fishing are also at risk. NOAA State Climate Summaries also finds that temperatures in Massachusetts have risen almost 3.5 degrees (F) over the past century. Daily record high temperatures were recorded statewide in June 2025, and Boston experienced its highest June temperature. Those rising temperatures have been shown to interrupt animal migratory patterns, introduce invasive species to certain ecosystems, and have an overall harmful effect on agricultural production.
According to the comprehensive Massachusetts Climate Change Assessment, released in December 2022, “by 2090, summer in Massachusetts could feel like summer in Georgia today.” The Assessment identified the most urgent impacts of climate change across five sectors, which include: human health impacts from extreme heat and degraded air quality; heavy rainfall, flooding, and heat stress damaging buildings, electric transmission and transit service; warming waters, rising sea levels, drought, and ocean acidification degrading freshwater, marine, coastal wetland and forest ecosystems; and reduction in affordable housing due to economic impacts.
ENERGY
Massachusetts has no fossil fuel reserves and does not use any coal: with its last coal-fired plant closing in 2017, it is one of 9 states with no utility-scale coal-fired generation. There has been no nuclear power since 2019, when its sole nuclear power plant retired, and in 2024 petroleum accounted for less than 1% of electricity generated. The majority of the state’s electricity is generated from natural gas - 65% in 2024 - but a big natural-gas fired station retired in June 2024. The second largest source is renewables which have tripled in the last decade, accounting for 33% of total electricity generation in 2024. One quarter is solar power - the state had over 4500 megawatts solar capacity in 2025, which has more than doubled since 2017. Massachusetts is 6th in the nation for small-scale solar generation. The rest is hydropower (4%), biomass (4%) and wind power (1%). All 880 megawatts of additional electricity generating capacity planned for 2026 will use renewable energy.
New England Clean Energy Connect, a 145 mile high-voltage transmission line connecting hydroelectric facilities in Quebec to Massachusetts, came into service in 2026. As the residents face rapidly rising electricity costs, the project is expected to meet 20% of the state’s total electricity needs and reduce prices. It is currently facing some setbacks, however.
CLIMATE PLANS AND LEGISLATION
- Starting in 2002, Massachusetts adopted a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) which set a requirement for electricity retailers to acquire increasing amounts of renewable energy with a goal of 15% by 2020 with an additional 1% each subsequent year.
- In 2008, Massachusetts passed its seminal piece of climate legislation, the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), making it one of the first states to pass a comprehensive climate change regulatory program. The original goals set by the GWSA included a 10-25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 based on 1990 levels and an 80% reduction by 2050. In its 10-year progress report, the 2017 greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 22.4% below 1990 levels, exceeding expectations. By 2020 Massachusetts had achieved an emissions reduction of 4% below the 1990 level, in compliance with the target of 25%.
- To achieve the goals laid out in the GWSA, the state legislature passed the Green Communities Act (GCA) in 2008. The act provides a policy framework and investment into electricity production to create more affordable energy and expedite the transition to renewable energy. Under the GCA, all Massachusetts municipalities are eligible for up to $10 million/year in technical and financial support for the promotion of energy efficiency.
- In September 2016, Governor Charlie Baker signed an Executive Order calling for the creation of a Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) to meet the emissions targets set by the GWSA, a statewide climate adaptation plan to be updated every five years. The first CEP was released in December 2018. Also in 2018 the state released the Massachusetts Statewide Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan, which was the first of its kind to integrate climate change impacts and adaptation with hazard mitigation planning.
- In 2016, the Massachusetts legislature set the ambitious goal of requiring state utilities to procure 1,600 MW of offshore wind capacity and in 2018 updated that standard to 3,200 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.
- On March 6, 2021, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy amended the GWSA to set emissions limits of 50% below the 1990 level by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. The act also marked the first codification of environmental justice principles in Massachusetts state law.
- The Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050 was released in 2022, providing details on the actions the Commonwealth will undertake to create a pathway to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050.
- On her first day in office, Governor Maura Healey established the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience and created the nation’s first cabinet level state Climate Chief. Also early in her first term, Healey created the Youth Climate Council, launched the “Forests as Climate Solutions” initiative, signed Executive Orders on biodiversity, created the country’s first green bank for affordable housing, and designated climate change as a public health priority.
- ResilientMass, the updated State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan, was released in fall 2023, heavily informed by the Climate Change Assessment. The website for ResilientMass features an Action Tracker with status updates on over 100 priority actions identified in the plan.
- The state’s first offshore wind farm, Vineyard 1, came online in February 2024, and Massachusetts is currently soliciting proposals for an additional 5600 megawatts capacity of offshore wind by 2027.
- In March 2024, Massachusetts released its Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
- In November 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law a sweeping climate bill: An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers. The act includes reforms to accelerate the clean energy transition by ending delays in clean energy projects, making the grid more reliable, lowering energy costs, expanding offshore wind tax credits and expanding electric vehicle infrastructure. It also includes environmental justice measures such as improvements to equitable siting and the community engagement process, and codified into law the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity and the Division of Public Participation.
- ResilientMass Finance Strategy followed in August 2025, a comprehensive strategy for investing in climate resilience action as the state faces extreme weather and climate impacts. The report calculates the investment needs of seven key resilience measures across infrastructure, ecosystems, and public services, and outlines an approach to building a long-term system for funding and financing the pace of implementation. According to the assessment, the state will need to invest between $90 billion and $130 billion through 2050.
- The ResilientCoasts Final Plan was completed in late November, 2025 providing a comprehensive, statewide framework to strengthen and protect the 1,519 miles of Massachusetts coastline from the impacts of climate change. Sea level rise, storm surge and erosion are poised to impact some 3 million Massachusetts residents by the end of the century, according to the report.
- The 2025 Massachusetts Climate Report Card, an annual assessment of climate progress, revealed a difficult year for climate progress as Massachusetts fell behind on some key climate commitments. The report attributes falling short of 2025 EV goals to federal incentive cuts, and outlines how the restriction of offshore wind permits and the elimination of federal tax credits slowed wind and solar deployment. Despite budget difficulties and the loss of federal funding, the state still made some progress in 2025, exceeding its heat pump installation target, conserving 28% of state lands, producing a streamlined resilience grant application Environment and Climate One Stop, and launching the Climate Resilience Playbook.
- In June 2026, the Massachusetts House passed a $3.5 billion environmental bond bill called the MassReady Act which Representative Christine P. Barber called, “the largest state investment in climate resilience in our state’s history.” The Act, which passed the Senate in April, bans single-use plastic bags in stores, and authorizes the state to borrow money for resilience efforts including the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, the ResilientCoasts plan, a drought management task force, and a program to remove PFA pollution from water supplies. The bill also includes significant investments in coastal resilience, wetland and marsh restoration, reduced flood and heat risk, climate-smart agriculture, land and water conservation, forestry and tree planting programs, biodiversity projects, carbon sequestration initiatives, and climate risk assessments for communities.
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER STATES
Massachusetts is part of multiple statewide climate initiatives. It is one of 24 states committed to the U. S. Climate Alliance, which is working to secure America’s net-zero future by advancing state-led, high-impact climate action. Alliance members are committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. It is also part of New England Energy Vision and the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). TCI is a collaboration of 13 states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, including the District of Columbia, working together to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Massachusetts's Environmental Justice Council (EJC), established by the 2021 Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy, is tasked with conducting a comprehensive environmental justice analysis every five years, and providing recommendations to the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The state’s first Environmental Justice Strategy was released in February 2024 and includes directives to conduct project impact analyses using state mapping tools, language access plans, and an environmental justice training program, along with specific strategies including developing farming practices informed by Indigenous Technical Knowledge and planting trees in environmental justice areas. In May 2025, Governor Healey announced $500,000 in Environmental Justice grants.
Noting that buildings are the second largest source of emissions in the state, the nonprofit Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN) advocates for deep decarbonization of buildings prioritizing the most vulnerable populations. MCAN’s proposed Zero Carbon Renovation Fund calls for $300 million from the Legislature to conduct zero carbon renovations in existing buildings, including improving energy efficiency, electrification, renewable energy, and low carbon retrofit materials, prioritizing affordable housing, buildings in Environmental Justice Communities, low income schools, and BIPOC and women businesses. Along with the Green Energy Consumers Alliance and MassEnergize, MCAN developed a Climate Goals Tracker to trace the adoption of three key decarbonization measures in individual municipalities: heat pumps, electric vehicles, and solar photovoltaics.
The Massachusetts Public Health Alliance and Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) are collaborating to advance policies for reducing air pollution in environmental justice communities, and attending to how communities of color in Roxbury, Boston, and statewide experience greater air pollution exposure due to systemic environmental racism. ACE, the first environmental justice nonprofit in the state, specifically works in Roxbury, campaigning to increase energy efficient affordable housing, renewable energy adoption, reducing lead, improving air quality, and investing in public transit.
