Rick Dimino

Meeting 21st century challenges in transportation, climate and resiliency requires major attention and resources from the public and private sector. The next few months are critical for Massachusetts to develop major legislation that can reach Gov. Charlie Baker before July. There is reason to believe a path forward it possible, due to careful legislative proposals under consideration and the ongoing advocacy from stakeholders, but one missing component of this effort is a full, statewide assessment on the size of this challenge. We need to better understand the size of the problem that looks at the entire commonwealth’s needs related to resiliency infrastructure.  

Massachusetts is currently the only state in New England that does not have some type of commission looking at the cost and funding solutions necessary to protect against and avoid risks posed and expenses incurred by climate change. A blue-ribbon panel that is charged with developing a long-term strategic vision for the governance, finance, and implementation of infrastructure investments related to climate change is necessary. There are legislative proposals to create this type of a panel, and representatives from state and municipal government, business community, environmental advocacy and engineering experts are essential to getting it right.  

It is well documented that we must dramatically modernize and improve our public infrastructure to adapt to the era of climate change and protect our residents, quality of life and statewide economy. From coastline erosion and sea-level rise, we know the modern infrastructure is needed throughout the commonwealth’s transportation, energy, water and real estate sectors.  

Baker, DeLeo Offer Competing Plans 

Gov. Baker and House Speaker Robert DeLeo each put forward their own plans for increasing state spending on resiliency infrastructure and this is encouraging step.  

Speaker DeLeo’s “Greenworks” legislation is designed to provide state grants and loans to municipalities for climate-related needs, such as clean energy improvements, carbon emissions and sustainability needs. It is vital that the commonwealth pursue both mitigation and adaptation strategies in parallel, as this bill recommends. The funding for Greenworks would be provided by the state’s long-term capital borrowing program, with a goal of $1.3 billion over the next 10 years for this initiative. 

Gov. Baker filed legislation that would increase the state’s deeds excise tax to generate $1 billion over 10 years for resiliency projects. The governor deserves credit for proposing new revenue for statewide resiliency needs, but this plan dedicates only a third of the deeds’ excise tax revenue to the Global Warming Solutions Trust Fund. So, it is concerning that some of the new money would be sent to the to the state’s general fund, where it could potentially support any state budget program.  

With the magnitude of resiliency needs throughout the commonwealth, we hope that additional transparency and clarity can emerge on how a deeds excise tax increase would work, who benefits and how the revenue can be accessed equitably. Also, there are a number of these transfer tax proposals on the table, including some for increasing affordable housing. 

There’s No Doubt We Need More 

Unfortunately, both of these resiliency programs would only be a down payment on the extensive work that needs to be done to protect the commonwealth.  

As past leaders have done with the creation of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Massachusetts School Building Authority, we must confront this crisis head–on, and develop a thoughtful, comprehensive solution to ensure that the commonwealth continues to thrive in the face of unprecedented challenges. The necessary investments required to tackle climate resilience – from decarbonizing our transportation sector to addressing deadly urban heat islands – will require broad-scale and diversified funding streams, far greater than one single revenue stream, alone. There are also serious equity impacts that need to be considered. 

At the municipal level, we are seeing major initiatives to combat the potential impacts from climate change. Climate Ready Boston from the city of Boston and its Green Ribbon Commission have raised awareness on the risks to specific neighborhoods in Boston, and the changes necessary in different sectors of the economy. From building codes in new developments, open space designs, energy system in existing buildings, and flooding risks, work by the city of Boston made clear the need for action, but the city is only one of 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. We will need statewide resilience policies and approaches. 

Ideally, the federal government would be a leader and engaged partner with the commonwealth, but this is currently not the case. Creating a Massachusetts state commission that looks at our entire coastline, sewer, waterways, wetlands and inland challenges would help prepare each area in the event the federal position evolves and makes available new infrastructure programs a few years from now. However, even if Massachusetts is left to face this challenge alone, we must know the size of the challenge and the tradeoffs to potential solutions. As we move forward with Gov. Baker and Speaker Deleo’s worthy resiliency infrastructure plans, we can also try to set our perspective on the goals and policies necessary for creating a resilient and prosperous future for the entire commonwealth.  

Rick Dimino is president and CEO of A Better City.