Administration releases Priority Climate Action Plan

The Healey-Driscoll administration has filed a Massachusetts Priority Climate Action Plan that identifies some of the “most effective and implementation-ready” ways that the state and municipalities can reduce pollution during an upcoming implementation process.

The plan is the first of two deliverables required from the state by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the planning phase for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.

The two-stage CPRG program will use nearly $5 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds to plan for and later deploy greenhouse gas reduction strategies.

The state’s PCAP, prepared in partnership with the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, was submitted to the EPA in March. It is not intended to replace or override existing climate and clean energy plans, but to supplement them and prepare Massachusetts for federal funding opportunities.

The Massachusetts PCAP identifies greenhouse gas reduction measures in five key sectors:
• Transportation: includes adoption of zero-emission, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, adoption of zero-emission light-duty vehicles, and the increase of alternatives to personal vehicle use
• Buildings: focuses on increasing building efficiency and the decarbonization of heating systems
• Power: recommends the development of new renewable energy facilities, the implementation of building-scale renewables, and maximizing use of clean energy
• Natural and Working Lands: highlights implementation of nature-based solutions
• Waste: includes reduction of organic waste through composting

The administration released a straw proposal for the Priority Climate Action Plan in January and accepted public comment through Feb. 15.

A Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, or CCAP, will be the next deliverable required to continue the planning process, which will allow Massachusetts to be eligible to receive implementation grants in the future. The CCAP will provide additional information on both near-term and long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. This plan must be submitted to the EPA by July 1, 2025.

The MMA hosted an introductory webinar on the CPRG program in March 2023, which is available through MMA On-Demand (requires login) or on www.mma.org.

PCAPs from other states and details on the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program are available on the EPA’s program website. Questions on the federal program can be directed to CPRG@epa.gov.