All new municipal facilities in Boston will have to be carbon neutral, according to the city’s updated Climate Action Plan. The development was announced on Tuesday, October 8, and the executive order mandating the change is expected to be signed after Mayor Marty Walsh attends the C40 Mayors Climate Summit in Copenhagen, according to WGBH.
The city has already pledged in 2017 to be carbon neutral by 2050. Under the new mandate for city-owned facilities, net zero carbon can be achieved through a combination of energy efficiency gains, usage of renewable energy, or carbon offsets. Any municipal buildings currently under construction will not have to immediately meet the carbon neutral requirement.
In addition, the revised Climate Action Plan includes carbon reduction targets for large privately-owned facilities, with an end-goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the Plan, half of the city’s total emissions are attributable to 2,200 of Boston’s largest buildings. The city will begin a year and half public process for developing the standards that will pertain to the city’s private building stock, according to WGBH.
Naomi Millán is senior editor of Building Operating Management.
