Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy Delivers Comprehensive Analysis of Key Strategies for the City of Boston’s Urban Climate Planning

Carbon Free Boston Report’s state-of-the-art modeling links policies, economics, and emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

BOSTON, MA (May 20, 2019) – Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) in collaboration with the Boston Green Ribbon Commission today released the Carbon Free Boston Technical and Social Equity companion reports, expanding on the prior Summary Report with in-depth analysis that brings new knowledge and insights to how Boston can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

ISE’s Carbon Free Boston analysis takes a unique approach to climate mitigation planning, using extensive real-world data to quantitatively define how certain strategies and policies create pathways to becoming a carbon-neutral city—rather than assuming that technologies and practices will evolve out of necessity to meet decarbonization goals.

“As we enter a new era of our City’s history, we’re planning for storms, climate change, and the environmental threats the next generation will face,” said Mayor Walsh. “We and our partners must be resilient and carbon neutral, from creating a Resilient Boston Harbor vision plan to moving forward with Community Choice Energy. I’m grateful for the partnership of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission and the experts at Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy. Their work will help us continue to lead, addressing the challenge of climate change.”

“Boston already has many programs underway that advance progress towards carbon neutrality, with Carbon Free Boston further solidifying the City as a climate leader and building on the potential to create immense, widely dispersed quality-of-life and economic benefits for all Bostonians,” said Cutler Cleveland, Carbon Free Boston project leader at the Institute for Sustainable Energy and Boston University Professor of Earth and Environment. “The major transformation that urgent climate action requires also presents a pivotal opportunity to design a more equitable and inclusive city.”

The overarching takeaways of the report call for three mutually-reinforcing carbon-reduction strategies and actions that are interwoven with social equity outcomes: 1) deepen energy efficiency while lowering demand, 2) electrify as much as possible, and 3) use 100 percent clean energy. The measurable benefits are many, including analysis that the City of Boston can eliminate 80 percent of fossil fuel use through electrification by 2050 and save $600 million each year through aggressive reductions in energy demand, while only increasing electricity use by 12 percent.

Carbon Free Boston Technical Reports:

In the Technical Reports, ISE lays out the principal methods and data that underlie the entire Carbon Free Boston assessment. Four sector-specific reports for buildings, transportation, waste, and energy evaluate greenhouse gas outputs and reduction strategies, with a separate report on carbon offset strategies. An additional Technical Summary report highlights Carbon Free Boston’s cross-sector themes in demand reduction, electrification, and clean energy procurement.

The framework that emerges for making impactful strategy and climate policy points to the wholesale need for infrastructural and behavioral changes across sectors:

Buildings:

• One of Boston’s most significant carbon neutrality challenges is how to decarbonize Boston’s predominately older building stock, which represents 75 percent of the City’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• Carbon Free Boston’s building energy modeling identified optimal energy efficiency and decarbonization strategies that require: 1.) incentives and mandates to decarbonize, 2.) deep energy retrofits to existing buildings and zero emissions requirements for new construction, and 3.) electrification of building heating systems.

“The Carbon Free Boston report stands out for its sharp focus on the implications of real data,” said Harvey Michaels, Lecturer, Energy Management Innovation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “As an example, the buildings report puts forward the critical importance of switching to electric heat and hot water. Innovative solutions are more easily found when the problem to be solved is crystal clear.”

Transportation:

• Carbon Free Boston’s transportation modeling explores the potential of incentive-based behavioral strategies for shifting people out of vehicles into other modes of transportation (public transit, biking, and walking), with the goal of delivering emission reductions, enhancing public health, and improving transportation equity.
• The transportation analysis evaluates a rapidly changing technological landscape to show that a mix of actions is needed to achieve carbon neutrality and effectively manage ride-hailing, connected autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicles for improved mobility. This includes rapid electrification of vehicles supported by the installation of charging equipment on city streets and in private parking spaces.

“Carbon Free Boston’s transportation report provides a thoughtful, practical, carefully researched, and delightfully readable strategy that Boston (and other cities) can use to build a next-generation transportation system,” said Henry Kelly, Chief Scientist, Michigan Institute for Data Science, University of Michigan. “It is a must-read for anyone interested in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the enormous environmental challenges presented by the existing transportation system while greatly improving the speed, safety, and convenience of mobility for all of Boston’s citizens.”

Waste:

• Carbon Free Boston takes a novel approach to understanding the impacts of waste policy in accounting for the City’s overall emissions, providing new data on combustion emissions that reinforces the need for waste diversion strategies.
• Zero waste strategies such as organics collection, source reduction, product and packaging requirements, and improved access to recycling can reduce emissions from waste.

“The groundbreaking Carbon Free Boston analysis is unique in quantifying the climate impact of the City’s waste system,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste Project at Conservation Law Foundation. “The study underscores a point the Zero Waste Project at CLF has been making for years: Zero Waste programs are essential to fight climate change while saving money. If the City of Boston wants to slash its emissions, we must immediately reduce waste and start composting.”

Energy:

• Regional-scale clean energy procurement required by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Standard state law is critical to meeting Boston’s carbon neutrality commitment, underscoring the need for statewide policymaking to support city-based climate action.
• Targeting an accelerated timeline of 2030 to achieve Boston’s clean electricity goal will reduce the City’s overall carbon emissions by 50 percent, making the most significant upfront contribution to mitigation while having the greatest potential to effect change in the development of new clean energy technologies.

“The data and technical analyses in Carbon Free Boston are valuable to regional efforts in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and grid modernization to accelerate economy-wide decarbonization,” said Rebecca Davis, Deputy Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). “Both the public and private sectors are grappling with the best ways to achieve a strong and equitable net-zero region by 2050. These reports highlight the need for innovative policy solutions and clean energy strategies at the local and state levels in the near term in order to achieve a carbon-free future for Boston and beyond.”

Offsets:

• The Carbon Free Boston analysis finds that some systems may still be reliant on fossil fuels in 2050, due to technical or economic limitations. The City has the option of pursuing a variety of offset projects locally and globally, with the potential of delivering additional benefits to natural lands, air quality, and human wellbeing.
• Offsets can be utilized for near-term wins, supporting the development of negative emissions technologies and mitigating hard-to-eliminate emissions.

Carbon Free Boston Social Equity Report:

The companion Social Equity Report provides a detailed analysis of the potential benefits and burdens that climate change and carbon neutrality represent to socially vulnerable communities in Boston. Three guiding principles describe the attributes of an equitable approach to carbon-neutrality: 1) careful planning to avoid unintended consequences, 2) intentional design with a clear focus on equity outcomes, and 3) inclusive practices from start to finish in all decision making.

The accompanying press release on the Carbon Free Boston Social Equity report, which highlights key findings by sector, is available on the Boston Green Ribbon Commission’s site.

The full Technical and Social Equity reports, along with the Carbon Free Boston Summary report, can be found at http://sites.bu.edu/cfb/carbon-free-boston-report-released.

Project consultants for the Technical Report who assisted with modeling development include Arup, Cambridge Systematics, and Lion Advisors for Community and Environment.

About Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy
The Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) collaborated with the Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) on the Carbon Free Boston report to inform the City of Boston’s Climate Action Plan Update and pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050. ISE is a university-wide center dedicated to facilitating the transition to a sustainable, climate-safe global energy system. Through interdisciplinary research, policy analysis, and collaborative engagement, our mission is to ensure that the energy systems of the world provide abundant, sustainable, and universally accessible energy services to both emerging and advanced economies. To learn more, visit ISE at bu.edu/ise.

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