Carbon Free Boston: Summary report 2019
Date
2019
DOI
Authors
Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
In 2016, Mayor Martin J. Walsh signed the Metro Mayors
Climate Mitigation Commitment, pledging to make Boston
carbon neutral by 2050, and asked the Boston Green Ribbon
Commission (GRC) to establish a Working Group to support
the City in the development of strategies to achieve carbon
neutrality. In response to the Mayor’s request, the Green
Ribbon Commission collaborated with the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Boston University to develop Carbon Free
Boston, a long-term framework for a carbon-neutral Boston
that also supports short- and medium-term action.2
Carbon Free Boston was developed through comprehensive
engagement with City staff, utilities, neighboring municipalities, regional authorities, state agencies, industry experts, and
community representatives, among others, and was supported
by comprehensive analysis using models that project feasible
pathways to carbon neutrality by 2050. To ensure meaningful and actionable outcomes, we looked across scales and
considered opportunities and challenges associated with
specific actions at the city, state, and regional levels. We
also addressed disparities in communities’ capacity both to
mitigate climate damages and to benefit from the transition
to a carbon-neutral city.
The Fourth National Climate Assessment by the U.S. Global
Change Research Program reports that the northeast will be
especially hard-hit by climate change. By mid-century, there
will be 20 to 30 more days per year with a maximum temperature of more than 90°F (32°C), and the amount of precipitation
in extreme events will increase by as much as 20 percent. The
projected increases in extreme heat, intensive storms, and
flooding will impact people’s health, property, and livelihoods,
especially in socially vulnerable communities.
To avoid the worst of these impacts, climate scientists call for a reduction
in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that drive climate
change to a pace that keeps global temperature increases
below 1.5°C, the highest increase that the Earth’s natural systems can tolerate before severe and irreversible changes
occur. Meeting this commitment will require cities, including
Boston, to achieve carbon neutrality, which means a 100 percent reduction in net GHG emissions by 2050.