2023-Sierran-digital - Flipbook - Page 5
Climate Research Leads to Climate Action
By Sam Lambert
Capacity is one of the most dif昀椀cult obstacles to
overcome for municipalities working to implement
climate policies. Much of the work on the local level
is being driven by volunteer committees or lone
Sustainability Managers. The Climate Research Team
has been working to 昀椀ll the gaps by researching
local policies, ordinances, and plans from across the
Commonwealth that can serve as a resource for our
municipal partners. We then compile them on our
website, masstownsforclimate.org. As we celebrated
the one year anniversary of the passage of the In昀氀ation
Reduction Act and funding began to 昀氀ow, we responded
by supporting the creation of toolkits and resources
from across our networks.
Some highlights from this year include the Climate
Research Team hosting a virtual panel on Climate Action
Plans, well attended by city and town staff, elected
of昀椀cials, and volunteers to hear from the towns of
Brookline, Westborough, and Weston on the successes
and lessons learned in their implementation of Climate
Action Plans. We continued our work by disseminating
an MA Sierra Club toolkit to priority communities on
School Bus Electri昀椀cation grant opportunities. As the
summer wound to a close, so did our extensive research
into building emissions and the opportunities to make
electri昀椀cation accessible, resulting in a well-received
newsletter on many programs, actions, and funding
opportunities that our communities can take advantage
of.
As we move into a new year, we are looking forward to
the safe return of in-person networking opportunities
for municipal staff, volunteers, and of昀椀cials. Our
volunteers are responding to community feedback and
compiling resources on expanding urban tree canopy,
city composting programs, and community solar.
We will also say “see you later” to our tremendous
Climate Research intern, Brooke! Brooke joined us in
June and has been instrumental in helping us complete
our research on all 351 communities across the
Commonwealth. Brooke also worked closely with our
team volunteers and Transportation Team to research
municipal 昀氀eet electri昀椀cation, using her skills to
identify gaps and match them to resources. She will be
missed, but I have a feeling we will be seeing her around!
We must send a clear message that we must
move quickly to preserve a livable Massachusetts.
Acting locally to implement climate protection and
sustainability goals will not only improve the health
and well-being of residents, but these actions, when
scaled, will support our statewide advocacy.
Building Retro昀椀ts
At 35%, buildings are the second largest category
of emissions in Massachusetts. Within this category
are residential (single family and multifamily),
commercial, and industrial buildings. Across all
building types, the majority of emissions are driven
by heating, with exclusions for some industrial
buildings. From the Clear Energy & Climate Plan
[CECP]:
About half of all residential households in Massachusetts
use pipeline gas for space heating, just under a third
use delivered petroleum products (fuel oil or propane),
and about 15% use electricity for electric resistance
heating and air-source or ground-source heat pumps.
About three-quarters of commercial square footage
in Massachusetts is heated with natural gas, with
petroleum, electricity, and district steam systems
comprising the remainder.
Continue reading on our blog: https://bit.ly/blogbuilding-retro昀椀ts
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