A rendering showing the area of downtown Boston that could be flooded by a so-called "100-year storm" by 2030 as sea levels rise and the severity of ordinary storms worsen. It's estimated that Boston has a 10 percent chance of being hit by a 100-year storms by 2033. Image courtesy of the Wharf District Council
Climate change strategies will require a bigger piece of Boston’s budget in coming years as the city prepares to retrofit municipal properties and invest in coastal resiliency projects.
The city’s 2030 Climate Action Plan reflects the transition to implementation of physical projects to reduce flooding, urban heat islands and carbon emissions after years of studies and planning, Boston Climate Chief Officer Brian Swett said at a press conference at East Boston’s LoPresti Park at the edge of Boston Harbor.
The city’s $4.5 billion capital plan for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 will include $75 million toward coastal resiliency projects. The city also faces significant costs related to installation of non-fossil fuel building systems, including the Boston Housing Authority’s properties.
“Unaddressed, climate change is an existential threat to the city of Boston and the future of our way of life,” Swett said.
The climate action plan combines all of the city’s goals in mitigation, resilience and justice for the first time, while providing a clearer path to implementation, according to an executive summary. It continues to push for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050, something that the city is enforcing through its BERDO ordinance.
The city also is partnering with National Grid and the state’s Mass Save program on a program that encourages owners of small residential buildings to replace fossil fuel-burning building systems with electric heat pumps.
The report estimates the 2030 goal is within reach, with emissions estimated to decline 48 percent under the existing regulations and programs.
Climate Resilience Takes Center Stage
Climate studies predict widespread property damage associated with a 40-inch projected sea level rise by 2070, affecting Boston’s 47 miles of coastline and flood paths that would inundate parts of inland neighborhoods such as Dorchester, Roxbury and South End.
A major storm could cause $14 billion in property damage citywide, according to the report.
Some private groups and property owners already have begun taking steps to protect coastal areas, including the Wharf District Council’s studies of the downtown waterfront area and the Harbor Towers condominium association’s installation of flood barriers.
Boston Chief Climate Officer Brian Swett. Screenshot | Courtesy of Boston City TV
The Boston Planning Department is preparing its first large-scale flood barrier in the Seaport District. The estimated $6.5 million project would block flood pathways on Wharf 8 near the Leader Bank Pavilion on Northern Avenue, and Pier 10 near the Boston Design Center on Drydock Avenue. In all, city officials estimate resiliency projects in the Seaport alone will cost $850 million.
Eight neighborhood-based climate plans have been completed, but resiliency projects are contingent upon local, state and federal funding. And before they can even move forward, a citywide U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coastal storm risk management study has to be completed – something that’s not scheduled to be finished until at least 2028.
Expanding Tree Canopy in Neighborhoods
The Climate Action Plan also addresses the growing threat of urban heat islands, through increasing the citywide tree canopy by 0.5 percent. On Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu joined members of Tree Eastie, a community-based urban forestry program, for ceremonial planting of 10 trees in the neighborhood with the city’s smallest tree canopy. The reforestation program also focuses on Roxbury and Mattapan, two other neighborhoods with environmental justice census blocks.
The program reflects the climate action report’s emphasis on climate justice, and minimizing the disproportionate effects of climate change on inner-city neighborhoods.
The climate crisis also is creating an opportunity for expansion of jobs in the green economy.
The Boston Climate Jobs Alliance, which received a $9.8 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has set a goal of training at least 645 people in the industry by August 2028.
