BOSTON, MA. – Today, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered her second State of the City address. In outlining her vision for the city, Wu announced plans to construct nearly 3,000 new, energy-efficient public housing units, bringing cleaner air and reduced energy costs to the city’s low-income residents. Wu also announced a partnership with National Grid to launch Boston’s first-ever networked geothermal system set to deliver clean heating and cooling to nearly 350 families living in the Franklin Field community.
The added energy-efficient units and networked geothermal system build on Mayor Wu’s goal of ending fossil fuel use in public housing. The announcements also comply with her previous executive order banning fossil fuels in all new city construction and major renovations. Already, two community centers and branch libraries under construction will be fossil-fuel free.
Further on building decarbonization, Wu used the occasion to highlight the finalized adoption of Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance Regulations (BERDO) in late December. The new BERDO emissions standards target emission reduction for five percent of buildings accounting for 40 percent of Boston’s emissions. The new standards mark a significant step toward cutting climate pollution and achieving the city’s climate goals.
Wu also celebrated Boston’s record $20 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to add 50 additional electric school buses to the city’s growing fleet and expand the necessary charging infrastructure. Boston already leads the Northeast region in electric school bus deployment, with an existing fleet of 20 fully operational electric school buses. During her address, Wu announced the addition of 19 more electric school buses before the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
In response to the Mayor’s speech, Sierra Club Massachusetts Boston Lead Organizer, Michele Brooks issued the following statement:
“We are encouraged to hear Mayor Wu’s continued dedication to delivering healthy, affordable housing for Boston’s low income residents. These communities have unfairly shouldered the burden of the climate crisis’ most severe consequences, including extreme heat, flooding, air pollution, and high energy costs. Energy efficiency, clean heat and cooling are needed to relieve burdens and increase quality of life in the most marginalized neighborhoods while mitigating the climate crisis.
We also celebrate the addition of even more electric school buses to Boston’s region-leading fleet. Our students and bus drivers deserve to breathe easy on the journey to and from school. We applaud Mayor Wu for ensuring our youngest and most vulnerable neighbors are protected from toxic tailpipe pollution spewed from diesel school buses.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.