Cambridge has been working for decades to address climate change and build a more sustainable, resilient community. Explore the plans, policies, programs, and partnerships that have shaped that work over time, along with supporting documents, plans, and other historical material.
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The landmark federal Clean Water Act strengthened protections for waterways and increased requirements for wastewater management. At the same time, the new Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) required state agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of major projects and created new opportunities for public review.
In Cambridge, these new laws resulted in an increased focus on stormwater runoff and polluted former industrial sites along the Charles River and in Kendall Square. For more on Cambridge's industrial history, visit The Rise of Industry in East Cambridge and The Downside of Progress from HistoryCambridge.
The Cambridge Department of Public Works began mapping the City's sewer infrastructure and created the sewer and drain facilities program, laying the foundation for future efforts to reduce flooding and combined sewer overflows.
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Boston's downtown parking freeze and the planning of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the Big Dig, raised concerns in Cambridge about traffic, air quality, and neighborhood impacts.
That led to the creation of the City's first dedicated environmental office — the Cambridge Environment Program. The program later became part of the Community Development Department's Environmental and Transportation Planning division.
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In 1992, the City adopted the Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance. It aimed to reduce vehicle trips, vehicle miles traveled, and associated emissions — particularly from single-occupancy vehicles — to offset new commercial parking capacity and support clean air goals under the Clean Air Act.
The City also responded to environmental health concerns raised by residents and public health professionals, including lead paint in older housing, pollution from past industrial activity, and pesticide use in parks and playgrounds.
In 1993, Cambridge published Towards a Sustainable Future, bringing together policies that had previously been spread across neighborhood plans and other City initiatives. The document served as the City's comprehensive plan, providing a citywide framework for guiding growth, land use, open space, housing, transportation, and other priorities.
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As former industrial sites along the Charles River and in areas like Kendall Square are redeveloped, the City seeks to balance economic growth with environmental protection and community health. Concerns about contamination, asbestos, and polluted land shape Cambridge’s approach to redevelopment.
Cambridge hires a second environmental planner, John Bolduc, with a broader sustainable development mandate to balance growth with environmental impacts, community needs, and long-term quality of life.
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Cambridge joins the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), which supplies a proven framework for measuring and decreasing carbon emissions. Cambridge prepares for its first greenhouse gas inventory.
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The City Council passes a resolution committing Cambridge to a formal process for addressing climate change as part of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. The City forms a Climate Protection Task Force of residents and City, business, and institutional staff to develop recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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Cambridge’s first greenhouse gas inventory shows that buildings are the City’s largest source of emissions. Although transportation and waste emissions remain an important focus, the inventory focuses City actions on reducing energy use in buildings.
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The Climate Protection Task Force releases Cambridge’s first Climate Protection Plan. It focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2010 through voluntary actions. The Task Force also recommends creating a permanent Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC).
New construction and major renovations of City buildings are now required to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) criteria.
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The Cambridge City Manager appoints a 24-member Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC) to advise the City and track annual progress toward Climate Protection Plan goals.
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Cambridge convenes an Energy Management Work Group to identify and implement energy efficiency measures in municipal facilities.
New maps created by researchers at Tufts University reveal what sea level rise could mean for Cambridge, including the neighborhoods, roads, and infrastructure potentially at risk.
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Hurricane Katrina floods over 80 percent of New Orleans. Of the estimated 1,400 to 1,800 people who die, over half are senior citizens. Black residents are disproportionately affected physically and economically.
In Cambridge, the City recognizes local climate leadership through Business Climate Leaders and Green Cambridge Awards. The City joins the U.S. Mayors Climate Agreement, requires all municipal office equipment to be Energy Star-rated, and sets a goal of 20% of municipal power used be from renewable energy. Cambridge begins converting traffic signals to LEDs, and receives Massachusetts’ first municipal LEED certification for the 1871 City Hall Annex.
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Cambridge completes its first baseline municipal greenhouse gas inventory and requires new municipal vehicles to consider fuel economy and emissions (“Green Fleet” vehicle acquisition), guided by the new Green Fleet Committee.
The City launches composting for restaurants and institutions and provides voluntary programs such as the Home & Energy Fair and Cambridge Climate Leaders to help residents and businesses reduce energy use.
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The City and the Kendall Foundation launch the non-profit Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) to help property owners invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through innovative financing. Envisioned as a $100 million initiative over five to seven years, the nonprofit does not work as envisioned and is ultimately folded into the Office of Sustainability’s Cambridge Energy Programs and decarbonization financing efforts in 2025.
New research by the Union of Concerned Scientists increases understanding of how sea level rise, heavier rainfall, and extreme heat could affect Cambridge. Members of the Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC) begin discussing the need to prepare for climate impacts in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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The Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC) concludes that the City's existing approach will not achieve emissions reduction goals and recommends four priorities: improving building energy performance, strengthening community engagement, better measuring progress, and reducing transportation emissions. For the first time CPAC identifies climate adaptation as an area requiring future attention.
Cambridge becomes one of Massachusetts’s first Green Communities, committing the City to reduce municipal energy use by 20 percent in five years. The City is one of the first municipalities to adopt the state’s original Energy Stretch Code. City Staff and the Cambridge Green Building/Zoning Task Force publish recommendations for the City’s Green Building policy.
Community activists and City Councillors convene a Climate Emergency Congress in response to the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Summit to brainstorm local solutions to climate change.
Related Resources
- Climate Protection Plan: Climate Adaptation Interim Recommendations
- Climate Protection Action Committee
- Green Building/Zoning Task Force Recommendations
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A July cloudburst drops over 3.5 inches of rain in an hour, flooding streets, homes, and businesses especially in The Port, Central Square, and Alewife. The City Manager approves a proposal to conduct one of the first municipal climate vulnerability assessments in the US, focused on rising temperatures, heavier rainfall, and sea level rise.
Cambridge expands its energy conservation programs and requirements, including Green Building Requirements for large new developments and major renovations, a City Lighting Study, a municipal Energy Reduction Plan, single stream recycling, and a $12 surcharge per resident parking permit to provide funding for energy efficiency projects. Cambridge hires its first full-time Energy and Sustainability Analyst.
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The 2011 update to the Climate Protection Plan outlines progress on emissions reduction strategies. The non-profit Cambridge Energy Alliance is folded into the City’s Community Development Department.
Related Resources
- Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- 2011 Cambridge Climate Action Status Report
- Press Release: Cambridge Energy Alliance becomes part of City’s Community Development Department
- Climate Protection Action Committee
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October 29th's Superstorm Sandy slammed into New Jersey and New York on Oct. 29, causing nearly half of its over $75 billion in total destruction. Sandy brought the immediacy of climate change to the Northeast in a way the Gulf Coast’s Hurricane Katrina did not.
Cambridge launches its Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and completes its first five-year municipal greenhouse gas inventory. CPAC provides recommendations for the vulnerability assessment. Cambridge’s first urban forest assessment finds that much of Cambridge’s tree canopy is located on private property.
Related Resources
- Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
- Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Kick-Off Meeting for the Technical Advisory Committee & Expert Advisory Panel
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- Recommendations for Adaptations to Climate Change
- Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2008-2012 Final Report
- 2012 Verification Report
- Urban Forest Canopy Assessment
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Cambridge, Harvard University, MIT, and local businesses create the Cambridge Community Compact for a Sustainable Future to increase collaboration on climate and sustainability, and the Kendall Square EcoDistrict, to decrease carbon emissions where more than 50% of them occur. These initiatives lasted until about 2019.
Early modeling for the Climate Vulnerability Assessment highlights the need for regional coordination. Cambridge joins ICLEI’s Resilient Communities for America. The City creates the Getting to Net Zero Task Force, charged with developing recommendations for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Resident advocacy increases. CPAC recommends Municipal Building Energy Efficiency & GHG Reduction, Climate Change in the Public School Curriculum, and a Proposed Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance. Green Cambridge holds a City Council candidate forum where residents ask for support for a building energy benchmarking requirement.
Related Resources
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
- January Agenda
- April Presentation and Notes
- July Project Update
- December Agenda and Notes
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- Recommendation: Municipal Building Energy Efficiency & GHG Reduction
- Recommendation: Climate Change in the Public School Curriculum
- Recommendation on Proposed Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance
- Cambridge Community Compact for a Sustainable Future Agreement
- Press Release: Cambridge Mayor Henrietta Davis Joins 45 Mayors and County Leaders Nationwide in Pledge to Create More Resilient Cities
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
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Cambridge adopts the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO), requiring large commercial buildings (25,000 square feet+) and large (50 units+) multifamily residential properties to report annual energy and water use data to the City. Reporting is mandatory, while energy and water conservation are voluntary.
Related Resources
- Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
- January Agenda and Notes
- Additional Information: Flood Risk
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- August Agenda and Minutes
- September Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- October Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- November Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- December Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
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Cambridge releases its Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) Part I, including heat and flood projections and maps showing where climate risks are expected to be concentrated across the City and across demographic differences such as race, wealth, and primary language.
CPAC releases recommendations for Solar Energy and Urban Heat Island Mitigation. The US Education Department gives Cambridge a Green Ribbon Schools District Sustainability Award.
The Getting to Net Zero Task Force releases the Net Zero Action Plan [for buildings] to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The plan recognizes that while voluntary programs have improved energy efficiency and raised awareness, achieving deeper emissions reductions will require changes in how buildings are designed, powered, and operated.
Related Resources
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
- March Agenda, Presentation, Summary
- December Presentation
- Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report: Part 1
- Technical Report: Climate Projections and Scenario
- Appendix A - Heat Island and Flooding Maps
- Appendix B - Temperature & Precipitation Projections
- Appendix C - Historic Rainfall Events
- Appendix D - Urban Heat Island Protocol for Mapping Temperature Projections
- Technical Report: Critical Assets and Community Resources
- Appendix A-Critical Assets and Com Resources Maps
- Technical Report: Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
- Ranking Reports Critical Assets and Resources
- Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Urban Forest in Cambridge
- Vulnerable Population Ranking Memorandum
- Public Health Assessment
- Economic Vulnerability Assessment
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Minutes (Agenda unavailable)
- No meeting in February
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- Solar Energy Recommendations
- Urban Heat Island Mitigation Recommendation
- Net Zero Action Plan
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
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Cambridge’s 2015 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan establishes a framework for coordinating resilience efforts across City government. Cambridge releases its municipal GHG emissions for 2016 and develops Community-wide GHG Inventory and Forecasting Methodologies to better understand where non-municipal emissions are coming from and how different policies could affect future emissions.
Related Resources
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda (Meeting cancelled - no minutes)
- Community Choice Electricity Aggregation Draft Plan
- Community-wide GHG Inventory and Forecasting Methodologies Technical Memorandum
- Hazard Mitigation Plan 2015 Update
- Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory
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Climate Protection Action Committee
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Cambridge releases its Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Part II, integrating the new hydrodynamic Boston Harbor Flood Risk Model with u pdated precipitation models incorporating river flooding and the stormwater system. The assessment identifies Alewife, The Port, and East Cambridge as most at risk from flooding. Subsequently, Cambridge develops Climate Change Preparedness and Resilience Plans for Alewife and The Port. Cambridge’s second Urban Forest Canopy Assessment shows that that overall canopy declines between 2009 and 2014. Cambridge launches Cambridge Community Electricity, which uses the City’s collective purchasing power to provide residents and businesses access to lower cost, cleaner electricity. The City releases its first Community-wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report using 2012 data.
Related Resources
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report: Part 2
- Technical Report - Sea Level Rise and Coastal Storm Surge Projections
- Technical Report - Sea Level Rise and Coastal Storm Surge Vulnerability Assessment
- Revisions to Report Part 2
- The Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report: Part 2 : Revisions
- Fig. 4 Priority Planning Areas map
- Revision to Fig.10 Inland flooding -100 year 24-hour storm
- Revision to Fig. 13 Inland flooding – 10-year 24-hour storm
- Fig.21 Most at-Risk Infrastructure Legend
- Fig.27 Community Resources Priority Areas Legend
- Technical Report: Climate Projections and Scenario Development - Appendix A revised flooding maps
- Cambridge Alewife Area Climate Change Flood Risk Illustrations
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Climate Change Preparedness & Resilience Plan (CCPR) Alewife
- Public Meeting April 12, 2017 Presentation
- Meeting Summary Report
- Climate Change Preparedness & Resilience Plan - Alewife CCPR
- Alewife Preparedness Plan (single page format)
- Alewife Preparedness Plan (double page format)
- CCPR Alewife Preparedness Handbook
- CCPR Appendix A: Evaluation of Upstream Flux in the Mystic River & Alewife Brook
- CCPR Alewife Appendix B: Green Infrastructure Analysis & Urban Heat Island Modeling
- CCPR Alewife Appendix C: Local Perceptions of Disaster Preparedness in the Alewife District of Cambridge, MA
- CCPR Alewife Plan Public Feedback Report
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- Community-wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report
- Municipal Electricity Aggregation Plan
- Second Urban Forest Canopy Assessment
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report: Part 2
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Cambridge commissions the Low Carbon Energy Supply Strategy to evaluate current and future energy demand and assess opportunities for expanding clean energy systems in Cambridge. The City becomes a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) community and uses its first grant to evaluate public buildings as potential emergency shelters. Cambridge co-founds the Resilient Mystic Collaborative to work with other communities and non-profits on regional flood, heat, and social resilience. The City begins working with the Cambridge Community Center to increase its energy resilience to support vulnerable residents every day and during extreme weather events .
Related Resources
- Cambridge Compact for a Sustainable Future 2017 Annual Report
- Climate Action Plan June 2018 Update
- Climate Change Preparedness & Resilience Plan (CCPR) Alewife
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- No meeting in September
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- CPAC BULLETIN January 2018
- CPAC BULLETIN February 2018
- CPAC BULLETIN March 2018
- Low Carbon Energy Supply Strategy
- Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant
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The Department of Public Works releases its Ten-Year Sewer and Drain Infrastructure Plan to improve stormwater management, reduce flooding, and modernize Cambridge’s aging drainage system. The City releases Cambridge BEUDO Analysis: Comprehensive Retrofit Program Design, which explores how building performance requirements and comprehensive retrofit programs could accelerate emissions reductions. Cambridge updates its Green Building Requirements to increase sustainability standards for new development and major renovations.
Related Resources
- BEUDO Analysis: Comprehensive Retrofit Program Design
- Climate Change Preparedness & Resilience Plan (CCPR) - The Port
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda and Minutes
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Agenda and Minutes
- December Agenda and Minutes
- DPW Ten Year Sewer and Drain Infrastructure Plan April 2019
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Cambridge publishes a five-year review of the Net Zero Action Plan, recommending changes to accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral buildings.
The City’s Fiscal Year 2020 Net Zero Action Plan Annual Report highlights progress on several initiatives, including the creation of a Building Energy Retrofit Program to support comprehensive energy retrofits in large buildings, amendments to the City’s Green Building Requirements, and continued work on clean energy programs.
The City launches Community Solar to lower costs and provide clean energy to income qualified residents.
The Envision Cambridge Climate and Environment Plan connects greenhouse gas reduction and climate resilience with decisions about housing, transportation, land use, economic development, and neighborhood planning.
Cambridge becomes the first city in the US to require climate warning labels on gasoline pumps. The labels inform drivers that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change and associated public health impacts.
Related Resources
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- Goals and Objectives for 2020
- January Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- No meetings April-August
- September Agenda and Minutes
- October Agenda and Minutes
- November Minutes (Agenda unavailable)
- December Minutes (Agenda unavailable)
- Note: CPAC meetings were disrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19
- Net Zero Action Plan 5-Year Review Task Force
- Meeting 1: Slides, Notes and Recording
- Meeting 2: Slides, Notes and Recording
- Additional reading: NZAP Impact Report
- Net Zero Action Plan Annual Progress Report
- Envision Cambridge Climate and Environment Plan
- Fuel pump warning labels Policy Order
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Climate Protection Action Committee
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Cambridge releases Resilient Cambridge, the City's first comprehensive climate change preparedness and resilience plan. The plan brings together findings from the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and neighborhood resiliency plans for Alewife and The Port.
The City completes a five-year review of the Net Zero Action Plan, incorporating advances in climate science, new technology, and better understanding of equity into recommendations for future climate policy,
Staff recommend to the City Council that the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) be amended to require large buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time.
Related Resources
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Climate Protection Action Committee
- January Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- February Agenda and Minutes
- March Agenda and Minutes
- April Agenda and Minutes
- May Agenda and Minutes
- June Agenda and Minutes
- July Agenda and Minutes
- No meeting in August
- September Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- October Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- November Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- December Agenda (Minutes unavailable)
- Net Zero Action Plan 5-Year Review Task Force
- Meeting 3: Slides and Recording
- Additional reading: Science, Technology, and Policy Context slides
- NZAP Action Status Summary 2020 slides
- Meeting 4: Slides and Recording
- Meeting 5: Slides and Recording
- Resilient Cambridge
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Climate Protection Action Committee