January 24, 2022
The Boston Foundation is proud to announce a new project, the inaugural Boston Climate Progress Report. This report is the culmination of years of discussion with the City of Boston’s Environment Department in the Mayor’s Environment, Energy and Open Space Cabinet, along with our partners at the Green Ribbon Commission.
Last spring, we worked with a group of experts in the climate field to help design the project and then invited proposals from researchers. We have selected a team led by Joan Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Professor of Public Policy & Urban Affairs, Northeastern University, to conduct the research for this report. Joan is joined by colleagues, Ted Landsmark, Director, Dukakis Center, Distinguished Professor, School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs, Northeastern University; Kaitlyn Alarez Noli, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Health Sciences, Northeastern University; and Michael Jay Walsh, Ph.D., an independent decarbonization consultant.
The genesis of this report was the City of Boston’s climate resiliency plan and the City’s reputation as a national and international leader in advancing city-based climate action, including setting three aggressive climate goals to:
We believe that these ambitious goals require building public will and support, and that those who live or work in Boston must be well-informed and share a sense of direction and destiny.
While the City has detailed roadmaps in place to advance toward its goals, community-wide climate action requires alignment and collaboration across a diverse set of stakeholders, including government entities, residents, neighborhoods, community-based organizations, companies, and other institutions. Currently, there is no vehicle for assessing, sharing, and encouraging progress across the Boston community and answering such questions as:
This inaugural edition of what will be a biennial Boston Climate Progress Report will also include a series of highly visible community engagement events to keep citizens informed of and engaged in climate action and progress against goals. To ensure that we maintain a well-rounded approach to this work and socialize it across a broad range of networks, we have invited a group of leaders in the climate space to join the Boston Climate Report Steering Committee. They are:
The Boston Climate Progress Report is set to be released towards the end of this calendar year. However, we will be sharing progress updates throughout the year. To ensure that you are alerted to the latest news about this work, please be sure to sign up for the TBF events mailing list. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to Julia Howard at The Boston Foundation.