Wu’s new climate plan sets roadmap for cutting emissions by 2030

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday unveiled the city’s new five-year climate action plan, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, compared to baseline levels in 2005. 

The city is aiming to completely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Wu said that the document represents a shift in strategy, from a longer-term approach to one more focused on shorter-term implementation necessitated, in part, by a “vacuum” in climate leadership at the federal level. More than $105 million in climate funding to Boston has been rescinded by the Trump administration since the beginning of 2025, according to city data. 

As of 2024, Boston’s emissions had fallen by 26.7 percent compared to 2005, something officials say reflects real progress. But the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 could still be viewed as ambitious. 

In 2024, Boston was still producing about 5.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. To be on track for a 50 percent reduction by 2030, the community would need to have been producing about 4.5 million metric tons. After a steep drop in 2020, emissions levels bounced back up in 2021 and stalled at around 5.5 million metric tons through 2024. 

The city would still be on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 48 percent by 2030 without the new goals released Monday, according to officials.

Wu, who was first elected mayor in 2021 on a platform that heavily emphasized a “Green New Deal,” touted her administration’s work during a press conference Monday at LoPresti Park in East Boston. Boston has “fully divested city funds from fossil fuels,” implemented new zoning requirements that emphasize net zero emissions for large new buildings, created a Boston Community Choice Electricity program that is “greener and cleaner” than alternatives, and launched Boston Energy Saver to help residents upgrade their buildings to use less energy, Wu said. 

The policies outlined in the new climate action plan will not only help Boston achieve its emissions reduction goals, they will continue to lower energy costs for residents and create well-paid “green jobs” that let families build a life in the city, Wu said. She cast Boston as a national leader for work that fights climate change, while taking a swipe at the Trump administration. 

“We know the threat that climate change poses, here today and of course for generations to come,” Wu said. “But unlike our federal government, Boston is not hiding from that reality. Instead of selling out our communities for the financial gain of a few, this plan is designed to build a better future for all of our neighborhoods and to tap into the opportunity that that represents.”

The plan makes note of shifting federal climate priorities that create long-term uncertainty. 

By the end of 2025, Boston had been awarded more than $148 million in federal funding for emissions reductions and climate resiliency. The city had grant agreements in place for 63 percent of these funds, but another 16 percent of the funding was rescinded and 21 percent is awaiting final approval, according to the plan. 

This is the city’s first climate action plan that goes beyond targeting greenhouse gas emissions, as it lays out actionable goals meant to increase resilience to extreme weather and rising sea levels, Chief Climate Officer Brian Swett said. 

“In this moment of climate denialism elsewhere around the world and around the country, here in Boston we follow the science and we follow the reality on the ground,” he said. 

This new plan is also unique in that it is taking an “all-of-city” approach that heavily incorporates collaboration with outside partners like nonprofits, educational institutions, medical facilities, and the business community. 

“Every single sector of the city needs to be involved, every neighborhood, every industry, every organization,” Wu said.