[00:00:01]
HAPPY LAST DAY OF MARCH EVERYONE.UM, I'M CALLING TODAY'S HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE CALL OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE CAMBRIDGE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN, ANNUAL REPORT, AND THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE'S REVIEW AND REPORT.
FIRST ORDER BUSINESS IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT.
THAT'S ALL FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT.
UM, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES.
NOTE THAT THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDS, THIS MEETING MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUTURE VIEWING.
IN ADDITION, THIRD PARTIES MAY ALSO BE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING THIS MEETING.
IN ADDITION TO HAVING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, WE HAVE SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE CITY COUNCIL SECTION OF THE CITY'S WEBPAGE.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK ARE POSTED THERE.
ONCE YOU'VE COMPLETED SIGNUP PROCEDURE, YOU'LL RECEIVE A LINK TO THE ZOOM MEETING.
TO WATCH THE MEETING, PLEASE TUNE INTO CHANNEL 22 OR VISIT THE OPEN MEETING PORTAL OF THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
WITH THAT, ALL OF TODAY'S VOTES, IF ANY, WILL BE BY ROLL CALL.
UM, SO NOW, NOW THAT WE'VE CALLED IT TO THE MEETING, I'M ALSO, UH, THE MAYOR IS ON ZOOM, UH, PRESENT AT THE MEETING.
THANK YOU MAYOR SIDIKI, FOR BEING HERE.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN VERY INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING ALL THE WORK OF THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, WHICH IS BEFORE US, WHICH WE'LL GET TO, UM, IN A MINUTE.
TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF BEFORE I HAVE MY OPENING REMARKS.
UM, LET ME EXPLAIN WHERE WE'RE AT.
I'LL MAKE SOME OPENING REMARKS.
THEN WE'LL HAVE A CITY PRESENTATION FROM THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
WE'LL HAVE A CLIMATE COMMITTEE PRESENTATION.
RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
SO, UH, WE HOLD THIS MEETING EVERY YEAR TO MONITOR YEARLY PROGRESS ON THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS AN ACTION PLAN THAT FOCUSES ON EMISSION REDUCTION FOR BUILDINGS.
SINCE WE NOW HAVE AN NET ZERO ACTION PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION, AND WE HAVE A ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN, WHICH TAKES CARE OF ALL THE OTHER EMISSION POLLUTION IN THE CITY.
THE ANNUAL REPORT GIVES THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO MONITOR PROGRESS AND STAY INVOLVED.
THE ANNUAL ACCOUNTING IS TO MONITOR PROGRESS, HELP REPRIORITIZE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES, AND UNDERSTAND OUR OVERALL ROADMAP TO CARBON NEUTRALITY.
SINCE BUILDINGS ACCOUNT FOR APPROXIMATELY 80% OF EMISSION POLLUTION IN THE CITYWIDE EMISSIONS, THIS REPORT IS CRITICAL, AS IS AN ANNUAL REVIEW.
ANNUAL REVIEW IS FOR FY 25, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD JULY 1ST, 2024 TO JUNE 30TH, 2025 EACH YEAR.
THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE, WE HAVE THREE REPRESENTATIVES HERE FROM THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
OUR CITIZEN LED BODY, WHICH WAS SET UP AND ESTABLISHED BY COUNCIL, IS CHARGED WITH REVIEWING OUR PROGRESS ON CLIMATE GOALS, UM, INCLUDING IMPORTANTLY, THE ER ACTION PLAN.
THE LATEST REVIEW LETTER JUST DATED DECEMBER 19TH, 2025, IS IN THE PACKET FOR TODAY'S MEETING.
AND THERE ARE SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE, WHICH WILL PRESENT THEIR LETTER AND GO OVER SOME RECOMMENDATIONS JUST TO SET THE CONTEXT FOR THIS.
PER THE NET ZERO TASK FORCE IN FIVE YEAR UPDATE, IT WAS DONE IN 2020, ACCEPTED EARLY, I THINK JANUARY, 2023.
AND TO ACHIEVE EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE ACTION, THE CITY SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND PURSUE EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND TECHNOLOGIES TO ACCELERATE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION POLLUTION REDUCTION AND ADAPT, ADAPT THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN APPROPRIATELY.
THE STAKEHOLDERS REPRESENTED BY TASK FORCE MEMBERS CAN HELP ACHIEVE THIS INNOVATION THROUGH PURE LEARNING ACTIVITIES.
STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE ENGAGED TO ADVANCE THE ENABLING POLICIES.
THIS IS FROM THE TASK FORCE, WHICH ALSO RECOMMENDED CENTRALIZING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS AS A PRIORITY ACROSS CITY ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION MAKING AND BUDGETING ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES, AS WELL AS THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF OUR ACTIONS AS A CITY THROUGH THIS LENS OF THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN AND THE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO INCORPORATE EMISSION REDUCTION.
A KEY PRINCIPLE OF THE PLAN WAS TO CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR AND ADAPT TO CHANGES RELATED TO EMISSION REDUCTIONS IN BUILDINGS.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS ACCELERATING, AS WE KNOW.
THERE'S PRETTY MUCH EVERY MONTH THERE'S NEWS THAT GOES BY, IS THAT IT'S OUR WORST CASE SCENARIOS MIGHT WELL BE COMING TRUE, AND THE NEW FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL HAMPER A LOT OF PROGRESS.
SO WE ALL NEED TO PUSH NOW MORE THAN EVER AND ENSURE OUR ACTIONS ARE COMMENCEMENT WITH OUR GOALS.
LATER THIS YEAR, WE'RE BEGINNING THE NEXT FIVE YEAR EVALUATION AND THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN.
THE PLAN WAS ADOPTED IN 2015, THE ORIGINAL ONE, THE LAST FIVE YEAR UPDATE WAS DELAYED A YEAR OR SO DUE TO COVID, AND IT WAS ADOPTED, AS I SAID, IN 2023.
AND NOW WE'RE DOING THE FIVE YEAR REVIEW TO REMIND US ALL THE LAST FIVE YEAR REVIEW, UH, ENDED WITH THIS PRETTY DIRE, UM, RECOMMENDATION QUOTE.
THE CITY NEEDS TO REMAIN AGGRESSIVE IN ITS APPROACH AND FIND ADDITIONAL WAYS TO CUT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
THE NEXT FIVE YEAR PERIOD WILL BE CRITICAL IF THE CURRENT TREND
[00:05:01]
CONTINUES AND EMISSIONS REMAIN FLAT, WHICH IT DID FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS.BASED ON THAT, UH, REVIEW MEETING THE TARGETS SET BY THE PARIS AGREEMENT WILL BECOME MUCH MORE DIFFICULT AND SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS AND STRATEGIES WILL BE NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE CARBON NEUTRALITY GOALS OF THE CITY.
SO WE'VE DONE A LOT TO SET OURSELVES UP ON A FORWARD TRAJECTORY FOR EMISSION REDUCTION.
THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY HAVE BEEN WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD.
THE BUTO PASS, THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE PILOT PROGRAM ORDINANCE, THE SPECIALIZED STRETCH CODE.
EVEN WITH THOSE, WE STILL NEED TO URGENTLY ADDRESS BUILDING EMISSION REDUCTIONS IN ALL AREAS IN NOT ONLY BUTO BUT NON-BETA BUILDINGS, RESIDENTIAL BUTO BUILDINGS, WHICH ARE EXEMPTED FROM THE BUTO REDUCTION REQUIREMENTS AND ALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
I KNOW STAFF ARE WORKING HARD ON CREATIVE FINANCING TOOLS WILL, WHICH WILL ASSIST THAT, AND WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO PAIR, UH, FINANCING WITH ACTION.
WE ALSO HAVE TO BE THINKING CREATIVELY IN THE SHORT TERM AND IMPLEMENT DIVERSE AND CREATIVE STRATEGIES LIKE TRANSACTION POINT UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS FOR GAS EQUIPMENT, DISTRIBUTING UTILITY INFORMATION TO RENTERS AND ENERGY AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR SALES.
THOSE ARE STRATEGIES OTHER COMMUNITIES OF ITS SUCCESS WITH AND COULD HELP ON THE MARGINS WHILE WE WORK TO DEVELOP LARGE FINANCING TOOLS.
SO NOW WE'LL GO TO THE STAFF PRESENTATION, THEN WE'LL GO TO CLIMATE COMMITTEE, PUBLIC COMMENT AND COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
UM, SO I WANT IF BEFORE WE START, IF EVERYONE AT THE TABLE COULD INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, YOU WANNA START WITH YOU, JOEL, ACTUALLY USE THE MIC.
COUNSELOR SIDIKI AND THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND MAYOR, I MEAN COUNSELOR NOLAN, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI AND THE OTHER COUNCIL, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AND THE CHAIR NOW.
UH, I'VE BEEN THERE FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS, AND ALSO A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE OI STUDY GROUP IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US COUNCILOR NOLAN AND, UM, THE COUNT REST OF THE COUNSELORS.
UM, I LIVE IN ON RIVER STREET, SO THAT'S AT THE EDGE OF CAMBRIDGEPORT.
AND, UM, I'VE BEEN ON THE CAMBRIDGE COMMITTEE, CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE COMMITTEE FOR A YEAR.
I'VE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH MIT, UM, STUDENT GROUPS AND ALSO JUST M THE MIT COMMUNITY.
I'M ALSO PART OF THE CROSS CAMPUS CLIMATE COALITION IN THE GREATER BOSTON AREA AND, UM, RUN ON CLIMATE AS WELL AS, UM, A LOT OF BUILDING DECARBONIZATION WORK.
I'M TRULY WORMER CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE CHIEF.
GOOD AFTERNOON, SUZANNE RASMUSSEN, DEPUTY CLIMATE CHIEF, AND JUST MAKING A NOTE THAT THERE'S A REQUEST FOR CAPTIONS AND IF THE THREE OF YOU COULD TURN YOUR FOLDERS AROUND.
UH, LIN CARNEY, SENIOR CLIMATE PROGRAM MANAGER IN THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
I'M A CLIMATE PROGRAM COORDINATOR IN THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE, TO CHIEF WARM.
UM, I THINK I'M FIRST ON DECK, SO, UM, STARTING THE PRESENTATION.
SO WE'VE, UM, DIVIDED OUR PRESENTATION INTO THREE MAJOR, UM, PIECES.
SO THE FIRST PIECE WILL BE SORT OF IN HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE ARE WITH, UM, CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING IN THE CITY AND IMPLEMENTING THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN.
THEN WE'LL DIVE INTO THE SPECIFICS ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE FY 25 UPDATE HAS REVEALED AND WHAT PRO PROGRESS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THEN.
AND AS YOU NOTED, CHAIR THAT, UM, THE FY 25 PERIOD HAS BEEN OVER FOR A WHILE, SO WE'RE BRINGING EVERYONE UP TO, TO CURRENT TIMES, AND THEN ALSO TAKING A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK AHEAD, UH, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN EACH OF THE ACTION AREAS.
AND THEN WRAPPING UP WITH WHAT WE CALL A STATE OF THE WORLD, WHICH IS WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT INFLUENCES OUR ACTIVITIES AND SUCCESSES.
SO IN THE OVERVIEW, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, HOW IS CAMBRIDGE WORKING ON CLIMATE TO JUST SET THE, THE FRAMEWORK FOR ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES WE'RE ENGAGED IN, AND HOW DOES THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN FIT INTO THAT, AND HOW ARE WE REVIEWING AND UPDATING THAT PLAN, UM, AS AS TIME GOES ALONG? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WE HAVE TWO MAJOR, UH, AREAS OF WORK THAT RELATES TO CLIMATE.
WE WORK, OF COURSE ON ELIMINATING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 2050 OR PREFERABLY SOONER.
AND WE, WE HAVE BEEN A LOT ALWAYS IN OUR WORK FOLLOWING SI, SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS FOR WHEN WE THINK, UM, OR KNOW THAT WE NEED TO REALLY, UM, MAKE SOME PROGRESS.
AND, UH, WE ALSO WORK, UH, VERY, UH, EXTENSIVELY ON PREPARING CLAIM CAMBRIDGE FOR THE INEVITABLE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
[00:10:01]
THAT WE KNOW WE WILL BE EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCING TO KEEP ALL OUR RESIDENTS BUSINESSES AND, AND INSTITUTIONS SAFE AND, UH, NOT IMPACTED, UH, FROM THESE CHANGES.AND WE HAVE OVER THE PAST, UH, DECADE OR SO DEVELOPED SOME, UH, LARGE FRAMEWORKS FOR ALL OF THE AREAS OF WORK THAT RELATES TO CLIMATE TODAY WILL, OF COURSE BE DISCUSSING THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN, WHICH FOCUSES ON BUILDING EMISSIONS.
BUT THERE IS ALSO AS, UH, YOU MENTIONED CHAIR, A ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN AND NET ZERO TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
AND, UH, ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION SIDE.
AND, AND ON THE PREPAREDNESS SIDE, WE HAVE A RESILIENT CAMBRIDGE PLAN FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON, ON CLIMATE, BUT ALSO THE CITY'S NATURAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN, WHICH, UH, INCORPORATES CLIMATE AS WELL AS OTHER NATURAL HAZARDS THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.
AND OUR OFFICE LEADS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN, AS WELL AS OVERSEE THE RESILIENT CAMBRIDGE WORK, UM, ALONG WITH PARTICULARLY DPW AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
SO, UM, WHAT IS THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN? WELL, UM, IT, IT IS OUR PLAN TO ELIMINATE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM BUILDING OPERATIONS BY OR BEFORE 2050.
AND IF, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE TO THE RIGHT, UM, WE, WE, UH, MEASURE OUR CARBON EMISSIONS IN FROM THREE DIFFERENT SECTORS.
WASTE TRANSPORTATION AND BUILDINGS AND BUILDINGS, UH, CONSTITUTE THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY AS MUCH AS 80% OF ALL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, UM, THAT ARE, UH, EMITTED IN THE CITY.
AND SO, UM, GIVEN THAT THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN IS, IS OUR BIGGEST, UH, COMPONENT, THE BIGGEST COMPONENT OF HOW WE LAY OUT STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS FOR ACHIEVING OUR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS.
AND THAT PLAN, AS WAS NOTED, WAS FIRST ADOPTED BACK IN 2015 AFTER, UM, 18 MONTHS PERIOD OF COLLABORATION WITH RESIDENTS, CLIMATE ACTIVISTS, UH, EXPERTS AND, AND RESIDENTS, AND, UH, BUILT INTO HOW THE PLAN IS STRUCTURED.
THERE'S A, AN UPDATE THAT TAKES PLACE EVERY FIVE YEARS.
SO THE, THE PLAN ITSELF HAS FOUR KEY AREAS, UH, THE FIRST BEING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND EXISTING BUILDINGS, WHICH OF COURSE IS THE MAJORITY, UM, OF, OF THE CARBON IMPACTS.
UM, THERE'S A, A CAR, UH, AREA FOCUSED ON AN MAKING SURE THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION DOES NOT ADD TO OUR EMISSIONS, UM, UH, FRAMEWORK IN, IN LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE, UH, DECARBONIZE THE ENERGY SUPPLY.
SO, UH, HAVING GREEN ELECTRICITY IN, IN THERMAL SOURCES, UH, BE PART OF OUR ENERGY SUPPLY.
AND THEN FINALLY, A SORT OF BROAD BASED FINANCING AND CAPACITY BUILDING, UH, ACTION AREA TO ENABLE THESE OTHER THINGS TO HAPPEN.
AND EACH ACTION AREA, UH, INCLUDES SPECIFIC ACTIONS.
SO WE'RE GOING FROM THESE FOUR ACTION AREAS INTO, UH, UH, 10 SPECIFIC ACTIONS AT A HIGHER LEVEL, AND THEN, UH, DOWN TO SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES OF WHICH THERE ARE 74.
SO IT'S A VERY DETAILED, UH, APPROACH THAT'S LAID OUT IN THIS PLAN.
AND CURRENTLY THE TIMELINE GOES THROUGH 2030, AND OF COURSE, EACH FIVE YEAR UPDATE, WE START, WE LOOK OUT, UM, A, A, UM, SIMILAR PERIOD FORWARD.
AND IN 2023, IN ADDITION TO, UH, LISTING ACTIVITIES WITH, WITH, UM, CERTAIN HOPE FOR OUTCOMES, WE ALSO ADDED, UM, ALMOST 25, I THINK IT'S 24 SMART GOALS.
SO EACH ACTION, AS YOU'LL SEE IN A MOMENT, HAS SOME VERY CONCRETE SMART GOALS THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN LAID OUT.
THE, THE WAY WE'RE STRUCTURING THE PLAN IS, UH, IN THESE AREAS OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, NEW BUILDINGS AND ENERGY SUPPLY, UH, AND THIS, THERE ARE BOTH REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE LAID OUT, BUT THERE'S ALSO INCENTIVES AND SUPPORT, AND THEN SOME ENABLING ACTIONS THAT WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO MOVE THESE ACTIVITIES FORWARD.
SO IT'S BOTH A CARROT AND STICK KIND OF, UM, FRAMEWORK THAT'S LAID OUT.
AND IN 2023, UM, WE ADDED, UM, ALSO A FOCUS ON EQUITY AND RESILIENCE IN, IN THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN UPDATE.
UM, AS SO EACH ACTION NOW IS, IS EVALUATED ALSO IN TERMS OF ITS ABILITY TO ENHANCE EQUI EQUITY AND RESILIENCE.
[00:15:01]
AND JUST TWO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF THAT ARE PROGRAMS CAN BE DESIGNED TO HELP SUPPORT LOW TO MODERATE INCOME RESIDENTS.SO IT ISN'T JUST HAVING A PROGRAM TO, UH, SUPPORT, PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO RESIDENTS, BUT IT SPECIFICALLY LOOKS AT HOW CAN IT, HOW CAN IT SUPPORT, UM, LOW INCOME RESIDENTS, UH, ON THE RESILIENCE SIDE, BUILDING RETROFIT PROGRAMS THAT ARE INTENDED TO DECARBONIZE CAN ALSO INCLUDE ADVISING ON RESILIENCE MEASURES.
SO THAT WAS A NEW ADDITION THAT HAD HAPPENED.
LAST UPDATE THAT ALL, ALL OF THE ACTIONS ARE EVALUATED AGAINST BOTH EQUITY AND RESILIENCE.
SO, UM, AS ALREADY NOTED, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'LL HEAR FROM, UH, THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE LATER ON IN, IN THE PROGRAM, UH, ANNUAL REPORTING IS, UM, INCLUDED AS A FEATURE OF THE PLAN.
AND, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE NET ZERO, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY STAFF UNDERTAKE.
SO WE PREPARE A, A UPDATE PLAN THAT THEN GOES TO THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY ADHERE TO THE COUNCIL.
UM, IT WAS INTENDED FROM THE BEGINNING THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE OVERSIGHT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T JUST LAY OUT ALL THESE ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES, BUT WE ACTUALLY SORT OF, UH, FEET ARE KEPT TO THE FIRE IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT THE PLAN IS ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED.
AND IT IS REQUIRED AS PART OF THE PLAN THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS WE DO A TOP TO BOTTOM REVIEW THROUGH A COMMUNITY-BASED PROCESS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE ACTIONS ARE STILL THE RIGHT ONES IN, UH, LOOKING FOR HOW WE CAN FURTHER OUR PROGRESS.
AND AS NOTED, UH, THIS LAST HAPPENED IN 2023, AND WE'RE GOING INTO THE NEXT, UH, PHASE OF THAT.
SO, THE, THE, UM, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN THIS PLAN WAS ADOPTED.
AND I WOULD THINK, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT THE REASON WHY WE WERE ABLE TO BRING TOGETHER ALL THE DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS OF THE CITY INTO A SINGLE PLAN THAT WAS SUPPORTED BY THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, BY INSTITUTIONS, RESIDENTS, ADVOCATES, ET CETERA, UH, WAS BECAUSE WE COMMITTED TO THIS FIVE YEAR UPDATE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALL THE THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, LOOKING AT THE OUTCOMES OF THE ACTIONS WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, ARE THEY ACTUALLY ACHIEVING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO ACHIEVE? HOW IS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING? AND WE KNOW MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED, UH, ON THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE SINCE THIS PLAN WAS ORIGINALLY ADOPTED.
LIKE WHO HAD EVER HEARD OF WINDOW HEAT PUMPS AND, UH, BALCONY SOLAR, MANY THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT STATE AND FEDERAL POLICY AND, AND REGULATIONS ALSO CHANGE ALONG THE WAY AS DO, UH, THE COST AND ECONOMICS OF, OF IMPLEMENTING CLIMATE ACTION MEASURES AND STAKEHOLDER NEEDS CAN ALSO CHANGE OVER TIME.
AND THIS WAY OF, UM, LOOKING AT OUR, AND UPDATING OUR PLAN IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL.
THE, UH, COMMONWEALTH'S FIVE YEAR CLIMATE PLAN ALSO HAS THE SAME REQUIREMENT FOR OUR FIVE YEAR UPDATES.
AND AS NOTED, WE WE'RE, WE ARE RIGHT AT THE CUSP OF STARTING THE UPDATE PROCESS, UH, THAT WILL, UM, TAKE PLACE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE 2026.
SO WHAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT IS, UH, ANY CHANGING CONDITIONS SINCE THE LAST PLAN, WE WILL BE LOOK PROJECTING, UH, EMISSIONS OUTCOMES, UH, BOTH FOR 2030, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY VERY SOON IN 2050, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WAY THE PLAN IS STRUCTURED WILL ACTUALLY HELP US HIT THOSE TARGETS.
AND, UM, SOME, SOME OF THIS WILL BE THROUGH AN EQUITABLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WHERE WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH, UH, RESIDENTS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, AND OTHERS TO GET INPUT ON QUESTIONS AS THEY RELATE TO BOTH, UH, AFFORDABILITY AND SCALABILITY AND, AND MOST DEFINITELY TO, UH, EQUITY CONCERNS.
AND AS NOTED, THIS, UM, WILL HELP US COME UP WITH UPDATED ACTIONS THAT CAN GO, GO BEYOND THE, THE CURRENT FRAMEWORK, WHICH ENDS IN 2030.
SO, UM, UH, WE'RE NOW HEADING INTO THE ACTUAL UPDATE, UH, CONVERSATION.
AND, UM, I'LL JUST COVER A FEW, UH, KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THAT WE, UH, ARE SEEING RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN JULIE WILL SAY A FEW WORDS AND THEN WE'LL HEAD INTO TALKING
[00:20:01]
ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF THE, UH, 20 FY 25 REVIEW.SO, UM, CAMBRIDGE IS UNDERTAKING LEADING EDGE CLIMATE ACTIONS, AND WE'VE HAD SOME VERY, UH, BIG ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CHANGES OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, UH, OF COURSE, UM, THE, UH, IN 2023, THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES GRANTED TO US BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, WE WERE ABLE TO ADOPT A NEW, UH, SPECIALIZED STRETCH CODE, UM, BUILDING CODE.
AND THAT REQUIRES ALL NEW BUILDINGS TO BE HIGHLY ENERGY EFFICIENT.
SO THERE WAS A MAJOR, MAJOR STEP FORWARD, UM, THAT THE STATE MADE THIS CODE AVAILABLE THAT COMMUNITIES COULD ADOPT VOLUNTARILY, WHICH WE, YOU THAT LED THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, TOOK ACTION TO DO VERY EARLY ON.
AND, UH, IT'S EXTREMELY GRATIFYING TO SEE THAT WHILE WE WERE FIRST, THERE ARE NOW 57 COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE ADOPTED THE CODE, AND IT, IT'S, IT'S LIKE MORE EVERY WEEK.
SO IT'S REALLY, NOW IT'S LIKE A THIRD OF MASSACHUSETTS HAS THIS NEW CODE, UM, ACTUALLY THAT'S NOT A THIRD, A POPULATION, A POPULATION, THANK YOU.
UM, SO THAT HAS REALLY DRAMATICALLY LOWERED THE, THE CLIMATE IMPACT OF NEW BUILDINGS.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, WE WERE ONE OF ONLY 10 COMMUNITIES THAT THE LEGISLATURE GRANTED THE OPTION TO ESSENTIALLY BAN FOSSIL FUELS IN NEW BUILDINGS, MAJOR RENOVATIONS AND BUILDING ADDITIONS, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, UM, LABS AND, AND SOME HOSPITAL FACILITIES.
BUT THOSE, THOSE BUILDINGS CAN CANNOT HAVE FOSSIL FUELS ANYMORE.
SO MAJOR CHANGE THAT HAPPENED WITH RESPECT TO NEW BUILDINGS.
ALSO, UM, STARTING A FEW MONTHS AGO THIS YEAR, THE BUREAU AMENDMENTS, UH, THAT REQUIRE LARGE, NOT NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS TO BEGIN REDUCING EMISSIONS, UM, UH, TOOK EFFECT.
AND, UM, AS YOU MIGHT RECALL ON A PRIOR SLIDE, BUTO EMISSIONS REPRESENTS 50% NOT OF BUILDING EMISSIONS, BUT OF TOTAL EMISSIONS IN CAMBRIDGE.
SO IT'S EXTREMELY, UM, UH, IMPACTFUL THAT, THAT HAS IS NOW IN EFFECT.
ON THE RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL BUSINESS, UH, SIDE, UH, WE ARE NOW, UH, THROUGH OUR ELECTRICITY AGGREGATION PROGRAM, UM, UM, THROUGH ELECTRIFY CAMBRIDGE.
UH, WE'RE PROVIDING NO COST ADVISING ON ALL ELECTRIC SOLUTIONS TO, UM, ALMOST 1400 HOUSEHOLDS.
AND WE HAVE NOW INTEGRATED COOL ROOFS INTO THAT.
SO AS A RESILIENCY MEASURE IS NOW MAKING ITS WAY INTO THIS DECARBONIZATION PROGRAM, WE ALSO, THROUGH OUR $400,000 ARPA FUNDED PROGRAM, OUR ON TRACK TO HELP 20 BUSINESSES DECARBONIZE THEIR OPERATIONS.
AND, UM, WE HAVE BEEN SUBSIDIZING EQUIPMENT PURCHASES INCLUDING HEAT PUMPS, KITCHEN EQUIPMENT AND OTHER THINGS.
AND, AND THAT WILL BE FULLY UTILIZED.
UH, I SAID 400,000, WHAT I MEANT WAS A MILLION.
UM, SO THE NUMBER OF CAMBRIDGE HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE GETTING HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AND WEATHERIZATION AND HEAT PUMPS IS NOW AT A HISTORIC HIGH.
WE'VE SEEN SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT GROWTH SINCE LAST YEAR.
AND WE PROVIDE ALSO ENERGY BILL CHECKUPS AND, AND CONNECT PEOPLE OF COURSE, TO, UH, CLEAN ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS FOR BOTH, UH, DIRECT CASH INCENTIVES AND, AND 0% INTEREST LOANS THROUGH MASS SAVE.
SO A, A VERY ROBUST OFFERING FOR HOUSEHOLDS.
AND THEN, UM, JUST, UH, AS OF THIS JANUARY, UH, THROUGH OUR AGGREGATION, WHICH SERVES, UM, MORE THAN 42,000 CUSTOMERS IN THE CITY, UH, WE ARE NOW OFFERING 75% GREEN ELECTRICITY THROUGH OUR, UH, POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS IN, UH, UH, MIDWESTERN, UM, SOLAR AND WIND FARMS. AND THAT'S 50% HIGHER THAN IT WAS, UH, JUST LAST YEAR.
OH, BEFORE, ACTUALLY STAY ON THAT.
YEAH, AT RISK OF BEING SLIGHTLY REPETITIVE, I JUST WANNA STOP AND, UM, TAKE A PAUSE BECAUSE WE HAVE HIT A REAL WATERSHED IN THE LAST 30 YEARS OF WORK, AND I DON'T WANT TO GO PAST THIS TOO QUICKLY.
[00:25:01]
UM, SO THANK YOU, SUZANNE, NOT ONLY FOR WHAT YOU JUST SAID, BUT FOR THE LAST 30 PLUS YEARS OF ALL THE WORK YOU AND OTHERS HAVE DONE, ESPECIALLY TO THE CITY COUNCIL, ESPECIALLY THIS COMMITTEE, ESPECIALLY THE, UM, CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE COMMITTEE, ESPECIALLY OUR ENERGY TEAM, HIL AND TOM AND OTHERS.UM, YOU SPEND YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS DOING RESEARCH, DOING PLANNING, AND FEELING LIKE YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY PROGRESS.
AND WE HAVE MADE SO MUCH PROGRESS OVER, ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE TO THREE YEARS THAT I JUST WANNA STOP AND RECOGNIZE IT BEFORE WE GO THROUGH AND SAY, OKAY, AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NEXT.
SO WE'VE BASICALLY ELIMINATED CARBON EMISSIONS FROM NEW BUILDINGS AND MAJOR RETROFITS.
WE'RE NOT DIGGING THE HOLE ANY DEEPER.
WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO ELIMINATING CARBON EMISSIONS FROM 50%, NOT JUST OF OUR BUILDINGS, OF 50% OF THE CITY'S EMISSIONS THROUGH BUTO.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALL WHAT SUZANNE'S SAYING.
I'M JUST WANTING IT TO BE REPETITIVE BECAUSE IT'S AN INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT.
SO 50, SO NO NEW CARBON EMISSIONS ON OUR BUILDINGS, 50% OF ALL OF OUR EMISSIONS CUT THROUGH BUTO.
AND BECAUSE CAMBRIDGE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN DEVELOPING THESE TWO BIG SOLAR AND WIND PROJECTS IN THE MIDWEST, WE LEGITIMATELY DECARBONIZED ALL OF OUR MUNICIPAL ELECTRICITY AND ABOUT 75% OF THE ELECTRICITY THAT GOES THROUGH CAMBRIDGE'S, UM, COMMUNITY AGGREGATION OR, OR COMMUNITY ELECTRICITY PROGRAM.
AND, AND WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, AND WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM NIKHIL AND TOM IS THE BIG ONES ARE TOUGH.
RESIDENTIAL DECARBONIZATION IS TOUGH, THERMAL IS TOUGH, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THEM.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE ACHIEVED THAT MUCH OVER THE HARD EFFORT OF SO MANY PEOPLE, I JUST WANNA STOP AND, AND FIRST SAY THANK YOU, AND SECOND, SAY FEW.
UM, WE ARE AT A MOMENT IN TIME WHEN THE LATEST JOBS VERSUS ENVIRONMENT, RED HERRING IS CLIMATE ACTION VERSUS AFFORDABILITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF CLIMATE FUNDING BEING ROLLED BACK IN THE NAME OF VERY SHORT TERM AFFORDABILITY, BUT IT'S REALLY LIKE 10 BUCKS OFF OF, OFF OF A $450 ENERGY BILL VERSUS INVESTING IN THINGS LIKE WEATHERIZATION AND UPGRADING OUR ELECTRICAL GRID THAT WILL MAKE ENERGY, THAT WILL MANAGE THOSE COSTS OVER TIME IN A NON GIMMICKY WAY.
AND SO, IN THIS MOMENT, AND IN OUR TESTIMONY IN THE STATE HOUSE, AS THE ENERGY BILL'S GOING THROUGH, WE ARE ACTUALLY PROUDLY ABLE TO SAY WE'RE DOING BOTH.
WE ARE PROVIDING A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON NEUTRAL ELECTRICITY MORE CHEAPLY THAN ENERGY THAN EVER.
THE STATE REQUIRED 30% RENEWABLES.
SO WE'RE LEANING INTO CLIMATE AND LEANING INTO AFFORDABILITY.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, SO, UH, THE, OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY EXAMINES BOTH THE SOURCES OF, UH, AND THE TRENDS IN OUR MISSIONS AND IN UPDATING THE INVENTORY IS THE FIRST STEP THAT WE UNDERTAKE EACH YEAR, UM, AS PART OF THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN UPDATE.
WE GET THIS DATA FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT SOURCES.
SOME, UH, EASIER TO COLLECT, OTHERS ARE HARDER
UM, AND WE WE'RE WORKING ON THIS RIGHT NOW, AND WE EXPECT THE INVENTORY TO BE COMPLETED, UH, VERY SOON, UH, THIS SPRING.
AND WE WILL, UH, SEE WHERE WE'RE AT.
AND, BUT I THINK THE BIG, THE BIG IMPACT IMPACTS WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE AFTER THE NEXT FIVE YEAR PERIOD, WHICH IS BOTH SHOWING RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY FROM THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS, UH, LOWERING THE RESIDENTIAL, PRIMARILY THE RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR, THE LARGEST, BUT NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS WILL HAVE TO ACHIEVE A 20 20% LOWER EMISSIONS, UH, BY BEFORE 2030 AND OTHER.
BUT NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS START REDUCING IN 2030.
AND OF COURSE, UH, MAJOR RENOVATIONS ARE ALREADY REQUIRED TO BE FOSSIL FUEL FREE.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING, UH, TO SEE A, UM, SIGNIFICANT MEASURABLE DOWNTURN IN OUR EMISSIONS FOLLOWING THIS NEXT, UH, FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO NIKHIL.
[00:30:01]
OKAY.SO I WILL, UH, PROVIDE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF HOW THIS, UH, ANNUAL REPORTING WORKS, AND THEN, UH, GO THROUGH THE FOUR BIG ACTION AREAS THAT, UH, SUZANNE LAID OUT.
SO, UM, SO WHERE WE ARE IS AT THE END OF, UH, EACH FISCAL YEAR.
SO IN THE SUMMER, WE COLLECT DATA ON HOW OUR CLIMATE ACTION FOR BUILDINGS WORKED OVER THE PAST YEAR.
UM, WE PROVIDE THAT REVIEW TO THE, TO THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AND POST IT ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, AND THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE REVIEWS AND, AND DRAFTS A LETTER AND THEIR, IN THEIR OVERSIGHT ROLE AND, AND SENDS IT TO THE CITY MANAGER.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO NOW WHEN, UH, WE PRESENT, UH, THE WORK TO THE HEALTH ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE UPON A REQUEST, UM, AND, UH, PUBLISH THE FINAL REVIEW AND THE COMMITTEE LETTER TO THE WEBSITE.
SO, WE'LL WALK THROUGH HIGH LEVEL COVERAGE OF THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, UM, AT THAT ACTION LEVEL.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, A LOT OF, A LOT MORE DETAIL THAT CAN BE FOUND ON, ON THE WEBSITE, ON THE, UH, CITY SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD, UM, WHERE, WHERE THE ANNUAL REPORT IS HOSTED.
SO AS I GO THROUGH THESE, UH, ACTION AREAS, YOU'LL SEE THESE TRAFFIC LIGHT INDICATORS.
AND THIS IS REALLY A MEASURE OF STATUS COMPARED TO THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN TIMELINE.
SO GREEN, YELLOW, OR RED OR, OR, UH, A P SIGN FOR ACTION THAT'S PAUSED.
AND SO FOR EACH OF THESE ACTION AREAS, I'LL SPEAK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE, WHERE WE, UH, WHERE WE WERE AT THE END OF FFY 25 AND THE STATUS OF THOSE SMART GOALS, UM, BRINGING US UP TO PRESENT, UH, WITH ACTIVITY IN FY 26, UH, AND A LOOK AHEAD AT NEXT STEPS.
SO LET'S START WITH THE FIRST OF THE FOUR SECTIONS, UH, EXISTING BUILDINGS.
UH, SO IT'S, THERE'S REALLY SORT OF THREE ACTIONS IN HERE.
THE RETROFIT PROGRAM FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, UM, WHICH IS ON TRACK, THE BUTO EMISSIONS REDUCTION REQUIREMENTS, UH, ALSO A GREEN LIGHT, UH, HAVING ADOPTED THEM FOR LARGE NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND UPGRADES AT TRANSACTION POINTS, UM, WHICH IS ON HOLD AND I'LL TOUCH ON ON WHY.
UM, UH, SEVERAL SMART GOALS IN THIS ACTION AREA.
I'LL, I'LL HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THEM.
WE SERVED IN THE LAST YEAR, 287 HOUSEHOLDS THROUGH ELECTRIFY CAMBRIDGE.
UM, WE HAVE THE BUTO EMISSIONS REDUCTION REQUIREMENTS UNDERWAY AS OF, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING ON A RESOURCE HUB, BOTH WITH CONSISTING OF CONNECTIONS TO MASS CLEAN ENERGY CENTER, UH, SERVICES, AS WELL AS THE CITY'S OWN GUIDANCE.
AND WE'RE WORKING ON THOSE, EVEN AS THE FEDERAL GRANT THAT WE HAD RECEIVED FOR CREATING A, A REGIONAL RESOURCE HUB REMAINS FROZEN.
UM, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL ACTIONS IN THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN WAS TO ADOPT TRANSACTION BASED REQUIREMENTS FOR, UH, PRIMARILY FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
SO, YOU KNOW, REFERRED TO AS A TIME OF SALE REQUIREMENT OR TIME OF RENOVATION.
UM, AND THIS ACTION HAS, UM, INVESTIGATING THIS ACTION HAS LED US TO FOCUS ON THE FINANCING NEEDS FOR RESIDENTIAL RETROFITS INSTEAD.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT THAT ACTION HAS A, HAS AN ORANGE CIRCLE NEXT TO IT.
SO, FOR THE, SO WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN FY 26? UM, AS OF AS OF MARCH.
SO, UM, IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'VE SERVED ABOUT 219 HOUSEHOLDS FROM, WITH ELECTRIFY CAMBRIDGE SERVICES.
SO THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK FROM THE, FROM THE PAST YEAR.
UM, BUT IT IS STILL CHALLENGING TO ENGAGE THE MANY MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS AND CONDO BUILDINGS THAT WE HAVE IN, IN, IN RETROFITS.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA EXPAND ON THOSE OUTREACH EFFORTS OVER THE COMING YEAR.
AGAIN, UH, HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS, WEATHERIZATION AND HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS REACHED ALL TIME HIGHS, WHICH IS IN INCREDIBLY EXCITING.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, YET UNDERLYING, UH, ALL OF THIS IS THAT THE COST OF ELECTRIFYING IS, IS EXPENSIVE.
AND SO THAT LEADS US, UM, TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, BE EX EXCITEDLY KICKING OFF THE DECARBONIZATION FINANCING WORK THIS SPRING.
UM, AND WE'LL TOUCH ON THAT MORE IN, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF SLIDES.
UM, ON BUTO, I, WE HAVE, UM, FINALIZED, UH,
[00:35:01]
WE'RE ABOUT TO FINALIZE THE LAST OF THE THREE BIG PHASES OF REGULATIONS.UM, AND THESE REGULATIONS REALLY SPELL OUT HOW BUTO BUILDING OWNERS CAN COMPLY WITH THE ORDINANCE.
UM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS FOR COMPLYING, SEEKING A HARDSHIP, UM, SEEKING A DEFERRAL, THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE HAVE SEEDED THE BUTO REVIEW BOARD, UH, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE COUNCIL, UM, WHERE THEY'RE UNDERGOING TRAINING RIGHT NOW, AND THEY WILL BE READY TO HEAR CASES, SPECIFICALLY THE HARDSHIP CASES AND THE DEFERRAL CASES THIS SPRING.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN PUBLISHING, UH, TECHNICAL TECHNICAL GUIDANCE AND, AND DATA FOR ABIDO PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE TO HELP THEM, UM, NAVIGATE, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE TRANSACTION POINT POINTS WORK, UH, REMAINS ON HOLD AS WE FOCUS ON DECARBONIZATION FINANCE.
UH, SO LOOKING AHEAD, WE'RE EXPANDING DIRECT OUTREACH FOR ELECTRIFY, UH, INTEGRATING COOLED ROOF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO REALLY BRING DECARBONIZATION AND, UH, RESILIENCE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO TOGETHER.
UM, THIS OUTREACH IS GONNA CONSIST OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHANNELS OF WEBINARS, OFFICE HOURS, DIRECT ENGAGEMENT FOLLOW UP BY TECHNICAL ADVISORS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HELPING, UH, BUILDING OWNERS KEEP THEIR PROJECTS ON TRACK.
AND THEN IN PARALLEL, THE COMMUNITY ENERGY PROGRAMS THAT, THAT WE MENTIONED, WE'RE GONNA BUILD ON THE SUCCESSES OF THE EXPANDED OUTREACH THAT WE SAW OVER THE PAST YEAR.
UM, LOOKING AHEAD FOR BUTO, UH, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DEVELOPING MORE TECHNICAL RESOURCES FOR PROPERTY OWNERS AND, AND RESOURCES THAT HELP PEOPLE CONNECT TO FINANCING, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE MEDIUM SIZED BUILDINGS, THOSE THAT ARE GONNA START HAVING TO REDUCE THEIR EMISSIONS IN IN 2030.
UM, SO WE WANNA GET AHEAD OF THE, UM, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THEM AND HELP, HELP PLAN DECARBONIZATION FOR THOSE BUILDING OWNERS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE A VERY HIGH COMPLIANCE LEVEL WITH, UH, THE BUTO BENCHMARKING REQUIREMENTS, AND WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH BUILDING OWNERS TO MAINTAIN THOSE HIGH COMPLIANCE LEVELS OVER THE COMING YEARS.
SO I'LL PIVOT NOW TO NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO, UH, OUR NET ZERO REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW BUILDINGS AND ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ON TRACK, UM, INCLUDING NEW CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS, UH, EMBODIED CARBON AND REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR OWN MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS.
SO, SOME OF THE, UH, SMART GOALS HERE, ALL ALSO ALL GREEN.
UH, WE'VE ADOPTED A NET ZERO STRETCH CODE.
WE'VE ADOPTED THE, WHICH IS A SPECIALIZED STRETCH CODE.
WE ADOPTED THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE PILOT.
WE WORKED WITH OUR COLLEAGUES IN INSPECTION SERVICES TO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR THOSE CO FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODES.
UM, WE HAVE ADOPTED EMBODIED CARBON REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIAL FOR, UH, NON-RESIDENTIAL LARGE SPECIAL PERMIT BUILDINGS.
AND OUR MUNICIPAL, UH, OUR COLLEAGUES IN CAPITAL BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC WORKS, UH, ARE WORKING ON, UM, NET ZERO BUILDINGS AND, AND, UH, DRAMATICALLY CUTTING OUR MUNICIPAL EMISSIONS BY 2030.
SO, UM, THE, THE IMPACT OF THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE CODE, OF COURSE, IS THAT MANY BUILDINGS IN CAMBRIDGE, NEARLY ALL NEW BUILDINGS, UH, WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER EMISSIONS, AND, UM, MOST OFTEN ARE NO ONSITE FOSSIL FUEL USE.
AND SO TO REALLY JUST HIGHLIGHT WHAT THE IMPACT HAS BEEN, SO THIS WENT INTO EFFECT IN CAMBRIDGE IN MARCH, 2024, AND SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE HAD 55 NEW BUILDINGS THAT ARE FOSSIL FUEL FREE IN CAMBRIDGE AND 42 MAJOR RENOVATION PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALSO RESULTED IN, IN THOSE BUILDINGS BEING FOSSIL FUEL FREE.
SO, YOU KNOW, APPROACHING A HUNDRED BUILDINGS WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE IMPACT OF THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE ORDINANCE, AND, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE BUILDINGS ARE BUILT RIGHT, YOU KNOW, BUILT IN A, IN A ADVANCED WAY FROM THE START.
UM, SO AN EMBODIED CARBON, THE REQUIREMENTS APPLIED, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, REPORTING DURING THE SPECIAL PERMIT PROCESS TO NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
UM, SINCE ITS ADOPTION, UH, WE HAVE SEEN VERY FEW PROJECTS COME THROUGH BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE A COMMERCIAL PROJECT.
UM, THAT, AND AS A RESULT, WE'VE COLLECTED VERY LITTLE DATA ON EMBODIED CARBON.
SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN A POSITION TO ESTABLISH A BASELINE, YOU KNOW, AND TAKE THE NEXT STEPS ON EMBODIED CARBON.
[00:40:01]
UM, AND, UH, ON THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING FRONT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS AS, UH, AS YOU KNOW, ARE EFFICIENT, FULLY ELECTRIC.AND BECAUSE OF THE, UM, WIND, UH, POWER PURCHASE, UH, THE WIND POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT, UM, WE HAVE FULLY DECARBONIZED OUR MUNICIPAL ELECTRICITY EMISSIONS AND, UH, REDUCED THAT TO ZERO.
SO, LOOKING AHEAD, UM, SO WE ARE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A ALMOST TWO YEARS, OR, OR ACTUALLY YEAH, AT TWO YEARS OF FOSSIL FUEL FREE DEMONSTRATION IMPLEMENTATION.
AND SO CAMBRIDGE AND THE NINE OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE PART OF A WORKING GROUP THAT PROVIDES DATA TO THE STATE ON, ON HOW IMPLEMENTATION IS GOING.
AND THE AMBITION, THE INTENT, UH, IS THAT THE STATE PERHAPS EXPANDS, UH, ON THE SUCCESSES OF THE DEMONSTRATION TO OTHER COMMUNITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS, OR PERHAPS OPENS IT UP TO ANY COMMUNITY THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTED IN OPTING IN.
UM, ON EMBODIED CARBON, WE'RE SIMILARLY ENGAGED WITH EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO COLLECT EMBODIED CARBON AND DATA TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, AND WE WILL ESTABLISH A BASELINE SET FUTURE CARBON REDUCTION TARGETS IN A WAY THAT'S ALIGNED WITH BEST PRACTICES BEING IMPLEMENTED ELSEWHERE.
AND, UM, FOR MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, OF COURSE, THE, THE WORK CONTINUES ON EFFICIENCY AND DECARBONIZATION PROJECTS.
UM, SO I'LL SHIFT GEARS NOW TO OUR ENERGY SUPPLY.
UM, AND THIS ACTION AREA HAS THREE DISTINCT ACTIONS WITHIN IT.
UM, SO, UH, SUPPORTING THE ELECTRIFICATION OF BUILDINGS, INCLUDING THROUGH THINGS LIKE NETWORK, GEOTHERMAL, UH, ONSITE RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY, SO, SO SOLAR, UM, AND OFFSITE RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY.
SO BRINGING CLEAN ENERGY, UM, INTO OUR, UM, POWER MIX.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF SMART GOALS IN THIS SECTION.
I'LL JUST, UH, HIGHLIGHT THE, UH, SOME OF THE KEY AREAS.
SO, UH, WE HAVE A STUDY UNDERWAY ON A NETWORK, GEOTHERMAL, SO SORT, SORT OF NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE COMMUNITY GEOTHERMAL IN, IN CAMBRIDGE.
UM, WE ARE UP TO WHAT, FOR ONSITE SOLAR, WE'RE UP TO 13 MEGAWATTS OF PERMITTED, UH, CAPACITY OF SOLAR IN CAMBRIDGE.
UM, AND WE ARE ALSO, UH, ACTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THE COMMUNITY SOLAR ADMINISTRATOR PROGRAM, WHICH, UM, PROACTIVELY ENGAGES OWNERS OF LARGE ROOFS IN CAMBRIDGE, UM, TO FIND A PATH FOR THEM TO HOST SOLAR, UM, INCLUDING COMMUNITY SOLAR.
UM, AND FOR OFFSITE RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY, CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY ELECTRICITY OFFER IS 75% CLEAN ENERGY BY DEFAULT WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT OPT UP OPTION, UM, AS WELL, AND A, AND A 30%, UM, OPT OUT OPTION.
UM, AND OUR BUTO BUILDINGS IN CAMBRIDGE, WE, FOR, FOR THEM, WE HAVE ADOPTED OFFSITE RENEWABLE ENERGY CRITERIA SO THAT, UH, THE PURCHASES THAT THEY MAKE TO COMPLY WITH VITO CAN BE IMPACTFUL AND BRING NEW RENEWABLES, UM, ON THE GRID.
SO, JUST SOME, UM, SPECIFICS OF WHERE WE ARE NOW IN FI 26.
SO THE, THE NETWORK GEOTHERMAL WORK, ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
UH, WE'VE LOOKED AT, UM, SEVERAL DOZEN SITES AROUND CAMBRIDGE, AND OUR FOCUS IS NOW ON, UM, STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE CONDITIONS THAT COULD MAKE GEOTHERMAL, UM, OR OTHER NETWORKS LIKE THIS, A FEASIBLE PATH TO ELIMINATING FOSSIL FUELS FOR ONSITE RENEWABLES.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE AT 13 MEGAWATTS OF, UM, SOLAR IN CAMBRIDGE.
AND THE PROGRAM THAT WE LAUNCHED, THE COMMUNITY SOLAR ADMINISTRATOR, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS RUN INTO THE CHALLENGES OF REDUCED INCENTIVES FEDERALLY, UH, CHANGING ECONOMICS.
UM, SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO FIND WAYS TO EXPAND COMMUNITY SOLAR THROUGH, CAME THROUGH THE AGGREGATION.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE MENTIONED THE SUCCESSES OF OFFSITE RENEWABLES AND JUST, YOU KNOW, CONCRETELY BOTH BOW AND WIND AND PRAIRIE SOLAR BOTH STARTED GENERATING POWER TOWARDS THE END OF LAST YEAR.
UM, AND THOSE THREE OPTIONS I MENTIONED, THE A HUNDRED PERCENT GREEN, 75% BY DEFAULT AND 30% BASIC ARE ALL CHEAPER THAN WHAT OUR RESIDENTS COULD GET THROUGH EVERSOURCE, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING.
[00:45:01]
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS OF NEW DEVELOPMENT IN CAMBRIDGE, UM, AS WELL AS PARTNERSHIPS WITH INSTITUTIONS, UM, AND WORKING REGIONALLY WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, BOSTON, SOMERVILLE AND, AND OTHER, UH, SORT OF REGIONAL EFFORTS.UM, THE NEXT BULLET IS A LITTLE BIT, UH, SORT OF SEPARATE FROM THIS WORK, BUT IT IS TECHNICALLY UNDER ACTION THREE, AND IT'S ABOUT, UH, UM, SOLAR AND STORAGE TO SUPPORT RESILIENCY.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER FOR A LONG TIME, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY HELPING THEM RAISE FUNDS TO, UH, OPERATE FULLY OFF GRID AND SERVE AS A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUB, UH, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A REALLY, UM, EX, YOU KNOW, REALLY EXCITING WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO ADVANCE THROUGH, UM, UH, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PARTNERS AND, AND, UM, FEDERAL FUNDING THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN HELPING, UH, COORDINATE WITH THEM, UM, FOR ONSITE SOLAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE CHALLENGING ECONOMICS, THE SOLAR COMMUNITY, SOLAR ADMINISTRATIVE ADMINISTRATOR WILL BE FOCUSING ON LARGER ROOFS IN CAMBRIDGE, REALLY FOCUSING ON SOME OF THE LARGEST OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AND THEN FOR OFFSITE SOLAR, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AHEAD, WE ARE EXAMINING THE, THE PATHWAY, THE STRATEGY FOR INCREASING, UH, CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY ELECTRICITY RENEWABLES TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND SO, FINALLY, UM, ACTION AREA FOUR IS FINANCING, KIND OF THIS UNDER LINE, YOU KNOW, UH, ENABLING ACTION WITHIN THE, UH, NET ZERO ACTION PLAN.
AND SO THERE'S ONE ACTION HERE OF THE LOCAL CARBON FUND.
AND WITHIN THAT TWO SMART GOALS.
SO, UM, THE ADOPTION OF COMMERCIAL PACE FINANCING, THAT'S THE STATE PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO FINANCE CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS THROUGH, UH, THEIR, UH, PROPERTY ASSESSMENT TAX, UH, THEIR PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS THAT WAS ADOPTED IN VI CAMBRIDGE IN 2023, UH, THAT WAS ADOPTED, UM, AROUND THAT TIME.
AND THEN, UM, FOR THE LOCAL CARBON FUND, WE'VE CHANGED THAT STRATEGY TO REALLY FOCUS ON THE DECARBONIZATION FINANCING.
UM, SO PACE, WE CONTINUE TO OFFER IT, BUT THE STATE PROGRAM HAS REALLY SEEN PRETTY MINIMAL INTEREST.
UM, BUT IT'S, WE, WE CONTINUE TO MESSAGE, UH, BUILDING OWNERS ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE IT'S ON THEIR RADAR.
AND SO, FOR THE DECARBONIZATION FINANCE STRATEGY, WHERE WE ARE NOW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DETERMINED THAT THE LOCAL CARBON FUND WASN'T FEASIBLE, AND INSTEAD WE PUT OUT AN RFP, UH, AT THE END OF LAST YEAR FOR A CONSULTANT TEAM TO ASSIST US IN DEVELOPING DECARBONIZATION, UH, FINANCE, UH, PLAN AND STRATEGY.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL BE DOING THERE IS REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM FINANCING MODEL TO HELP RESIDENTS, SMALL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS, UM, IMPLEMENT THOSE RETROFITS, RIGHT? AND WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT A REALLY A, A WIDE RANGE OF RANGE OF MODELS.
UM, WE DID RECEIVE A LOT OF PROPOSALS, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING, AND, AND WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO MAKING THAT SELECTION.
UM, SO ONCE THAT WORK IS UNDERWAY, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT MODELS OF RETROFIT FINANCE IN OTHER CITIES AND REGIONS.
UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE PATHWAYS THAT ARE AVAILABLE UNDER REGULATION IN MASSACHUSETTS, UH, FOR, FOR THAT CITIES CAN OFFER.
AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE TYPES OF OFFERINGS, YOU KNOW, REALLY THE TYPE OF, UH, SERVICES AND FINANCING TOOLS THAT WE CAN OFFER OUR RESIDENTS, AND LOOKING AT WHICH ONES WOULD BE IMPACTFUL AND, AND VIABLE.
UM, SO THAT'S GONNA BE AN EXCITING, UM, ASPECT OF OUR WORK.
THAT'S, THAT'S JUST GETTING UNDERWAY.
UM, I DID WANNA MENTION ALSO LOOKING AHEAD THAT FOR OUR BUTO BUILDINGS, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO BE STARTING UP A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UM, OR EXPANDING ON THE ASSISTANCE THAT WE PROVIDE RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'LL REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOCUS ON THOSE MID-SIZED BUILDINGS AND, UH, THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN CONNECT THEM TO FINANCING RESOURCES SO THAT THEY CAN, UM, WORK TOWARDS THEIR COMPLIANCE IN 2030 AND BEYOND.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE, THE LAST SECTION OF OUR PRESENTATION AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WANNA TAKE TWO SLIDES HERE TO SHARE OUR OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE LARGER CONTEXT THAT WE'RE WORKING IN, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIT OF A STATE OF THE WORLD OF, UM, BOTH REGIONAL, STATE AND, AND FEDERAL ACTIONS ON CLIMATE.
[00:50:01]
BEEN, UH, HEAVILY IN THE NEWS AT TIMES, UH, $500 MILLION WAS CUT FROM MASS SAVES 2025, UH, THEIR SORT OF CURRENT BUDGET CYCLE.UM, AND ADDITIONAL CUTS ARE BEING CONTEMPLATED BY THE LEGISLATURE.
WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN THE IMPACTS OF THAT IN CAMBRIDGE FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND THEIR ABILITY TO ACCESS MASS SAVE.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN REALLY SHARING THOSE, UH, LESSONS, UH, THOSE OBSERVATIONS, THOSE IMPACTS WITH, UH, UH, FOLKS AT THE STATE LEVEL AND, AND ENGAGING AND ADVOCATING TO FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MASS SAVE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT THE CHIEF WARMS ARE TOUCHED ON, ENERGY AFFORDABILITY IS BEING FRAMED AS THIS WAY OF, UM, REDUCING INVESTMENTS IN EFFICIENCY.
AND WE KNOW THAT EVERY DOLLAR WE INVEST IN MASS SAVE IS REALLY RESULTING IN SAVING $3 OR MORE FOR, FOR ALL OF OUR RATE PAYERS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, WE'RE IN THIS SPACE WHERE WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING THINGS AFFORDABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE SHORT RUN, BUT ALSO REALLY IN THE LONG RUN, RIGHT? AND WORKING BOTH ON CLIMATE AND AFFORDABILITY AND, UH, NOT JUST, NOT JUST CUTTING COSTS TODAY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE, I THINK IN CAMBRIDGE, WE'RE REALLY DEMONSTRATING HOW TO CUT OUR EMISSIONS, REDUCE COSTS, AND HELP OUR RESIDENTS, RIGHT, KEEPING AN EYE ON AFFORDABILITY AND CLIMATE ACTION TOGETHER.
UM, OTHER DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE FOLLOWING ARE THE MASS, UH, DECARBONIZATION CLEARINGHOUSE, THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE BANK, AND THE STATEWIDE BUILDING ENERGY REPORTING, WHICH IS, UM, SIMILAR TO THE BUT OF BENCHMARKING REQUIREMENTS.
AND, UM, THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE.
UM, WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON ENGAGING IN SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE STARTING TO HAPPEN AT THE STATE LEVEL ON HOW DO YOU MODERNIZE THE GRID TO SUPPORT ALL OF THE ELECTRIFICATION WORK THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, HOW DO YOU START TO MOVE AWAY FROM ALL, ALL EVERYTHING WE'VE INVESTED IN THE GAS SYSTEM? AND SO SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE, ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, GROWING AND, AND WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THOSE.
UM, FOR GEOTHERMAL, THERE IS BOTH A RATE CASE IN FRONT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES AND LEGISLATION AND THE, UH, STATE HOUSE THAT WOULD ALLOW UTILITIES TO EFFECTIVELY DELIVER GEOTHERMAL AS A SERVICE TO LARGE INSTITUTIONS.
UM, AND SO WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THAT VERY CLOSELY.
UM, WE ARE FOLLOWING ALSO THE IMPACTS FOR FEDERALLY, UH, FOR FEDERAL IMPACTS TO OUR STATES, UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL.
SO OFFSHORE WIND, OF COURSE, IS THE KIND OF BIGGEST ONE.
UM, BUT THERE ARE OTHER IMPACTS TO BE CLOSELY FOLLOWED BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A BIG PART OF HOW WE, YOU KNOW, BOTH AS A CITY AND A STATE, UH, REDUCE THE CARBON EMISSIONS OF OUR ELECTRICITY.
UM, THE GEOTHERMAL TAX CREDIT AND DIRECT PAYER IS STILL AVAILABLE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE ARE BEING FULLY UTILIZED.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TECHNOLOGY FOR HOW WE, UH, ELECTRIFY OUR BUILDINGS, OUR HOMES IS GETTING BETTER, RIGHT? IT'S GETTING EASIER TO DO THAT.
UM, INDUCTION STOVES THAT CAN BE PLUGGED INTO AN EXISTING SOCKET OR HEAT PUMPS THAT CAN BE MOUNTED IN THE WINDOW.
AND WE ARE ENGAGING WITH SOME OF THE INNOVATORS THAT ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE REGION.
AND WE'RE FOLLOWING THE DEVELOPMENTS REALLY CLOSELY TO, TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN, UM, SCALE OUR WORK IN A, IN A, IN A EASIER TO ACCESS WAY.
OKAY, WE'RE ON THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
UM, SO, UM, WE, UH, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, OUR AGENDA FOR OUR PRESENTATION IS TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE OVERALL, AND THEN ALSO SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN, UH, AND THEN TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CITY'S CLIMATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PROGRESS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2025.
AND THEN TO KIND OF LOOK AT, UH, THE OVERALL STATUS AND OUR RECOMMENDED FOCUS AREAS, UM, PARTICULARLY DECARBONIZATION FUNDING AND ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, ENGAGEMENT AND THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS, THOUGH DEFINITELY WE DID OUR OWN INDEPENDENT, UM, REVIEW OF THE, UH, NET ZERO, UH, REPORT FOR THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STAFF.
BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT SOME OF OUR AREAS OF, UH, PRIORITY ALIGN VERY MUCH WITH THE STAFFS.
UH, THIS IS FROM OUR WEBPAGE ON THE CITY WEBSITE.
UH, THE PICTURE OF ONE OF OUR MEETINGS LAST YEAR, WE HAVE THREE MAIN GOALS IS TO ADVISE THE CITY WITH
[00:55:01]
IDEAS AND FEEDBACK AROUND BOTH HOW TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ALSO HOW TO, UH, IMPROVE RESILIENCE FROM THE EFFECTS, UH, TO CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY.UH, THERE ARE ALMOST 20 MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS WHO LIVE OR WORK IN CAMBRIDGE WHO ARE ON THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
AND WE COME FROM ALL DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CAMBRIDGE AND FROM A BIG VARIETY OF COMMUNITIES IN CAMBRIDGE AND BRING A VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE AROUND CLIMATE ISSUES.
AND SO WE CONNECT WITH OUR COMMUNITIES AND, UH, SHARE WHAT'S GOING ON FROM THE CITY AROUND CLIMATE AND GET FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITIES AND BRING BACK THAT BACK TO THE, TO THE STAFF AND TO THE MEETINGS.
AND THEN JUST BASICALLY TO SUPPORT ANY PROGRESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY, SUCH AS OUR ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN.
UM, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE OTHER PEOPLE SITTING HERE AT THE TABLE.
I WOULD SAY WE HAVE A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP.
OUR COMMITTEE MEETS EVERY MONTH, UH, FOR TWO HOURS.
UH, AND, UH, JULIE'S OFTEN THERE AND SUZANNE HIL ARE ALMOST THERE, AND TOM'S THERE SOMETIMES.
AND WE, OUR, OUR OFFICERS MEET MONTHLY ALSO WITH, UH, THEM TO DEBRIEF FROM THE LAST MEETING AND PLAN THE NEXT ONE.
AND WE HAVE GOOD CONTACT OTHERWISE IN BETWEEN MEETINGS.
AND SO I THINK WE HAVE A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY STAFF ON THESE GOALS.
AND THEN WE, AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR OR SO, WE MEET WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY DEPARTMENT LEADERS TO SHARE UPDATES ABOUT THE WORK OF EACH DEPARTMENT AND US ON CLIMATE ISSUES AND NEXT STEPS.
AND WE DID THAT IN OCTOBER AT THE SENIOR CENTER ACROSS THE STREET, AND IT WAS VERY GOOD NETWORKING AND SHARING OF INFORMATION AND INSPIRATION, UM, ACROSS CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UH, SO IN TERMS OF OUR ANNUAL REVIEW LETTER, WE LOOK AT THE WORK'S, BEEN IN THE DONE, ASSESS THE PROGRESS, RECOGNIZE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, IDENTIFY AREAS FOR ATTENTION, AND THEN TRY TO SUCCINCTLY, UH, PROVIDE SOME USEFUL RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE, UH, DID THIS REVIEW PASS PROCESS IN THE FALL AND SENT A REVIEW LETTER TO THE CITY MANAGER IN THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER IN DECEMBER.
UM, WE, YOU KNOW, THE BUTO, ESPECIALLY WITH THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS, WE SAW EVERY MONTH THAT THE CITY, THE STAFF WAS WORKING VERY HARD TO DEVELOP THESE VARIOUS RE REGULATIONS FOR THE REQUIREMENTS.
AND THIS IS A REALLY BIG STEP THAT OUR CITY IS REQUIRING LARGE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO REDUCE THEIR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ON A, YOU KNOW, MEANINGFUL, UH, SCHEDULE THAT IS UNUSUAL AND VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, AND WE APPLAUD THE CITY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A FEW YEARS.
BUT A LOT OF WORK WAS DONE IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR AROUND THIS.
AND THEN THE, UH, FOSSIL FREE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR NEW BUILDINGS, OR MAJOR RENOVATIONS OR ADDITIONS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE.
UM, BUT, UH, GOOD PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR AROUND THAT NEXT SLIDE.
JUST ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, THE TOBIN MONTESSORI SCHOOL, DARBY VASSAL UPPER SCHOOL IN WEST CAMBRIDGE WAS, YOU KNOW, THE COMPLETE RECONSTRUCTION OF THAT WAS COMPLETED OR ALMOST DONE IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.
AND THAT'S A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, HIGHLY EFFICIENT, UM, FOSSIL FREE BUILDING.
AND THAT'S ONE EX RECENT EXAMPLES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS IS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE CITY HAD THE GOAL OF REDUCING BUILDING EMISSIONS FOR MUNICIPAL BUILDING EMISSIONS BY 38%, UH, FROM 20 2008.
AND, UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED.
THE GOAL WAS TO DO A STRETCH GOAL WAS 35% BY 2020, AND THAT STRETCH GOAL WAS ACHIEVED BY 2019.
SO THAT'S A GOOD REAL DATA INDICATION OF SOME IMPORTANT PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE.
UM, SO HERE ARE SOME PRIORITY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, ACTUALLY WANNA READ FROM THE LETTER A LITTLE BIT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS SUZANNE SAID, THERE'S 74 DIFFERENT ACTIONS, UH, BUT LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHICH ONES HAVE THE MOST, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MOST NEED AND POTENTIAL IMPACT FOR REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM BUILDINGS WE FOCUS ON, OR JUST IN GENERAL.
UM, WE FOCUS ON THE BIG THREE IS BUTO REDUCING ELECTRIC GRID EMISSIONS AND LOW CARBON THERMAL EN LOW CARBON THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
AND ALONG WITH THAT, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE, WE RECOMMENDED THIS IN 2024 REVIEW.
AND AGAIN, THIS ONE, THAT FINDING AFFORDABILITY AND FINANCING INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY TO HELP
[01:00:01]
RESIDENTIAL, UM, DECARBONIZATION IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.AND THEN THE LAST ONE ALSO IS THE JUST INCREASE, CONTINUING TO INCREASE OUR OUTREACH AND CAPACITY BUILDING ACROSS ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT ACTIONS.
WERE TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST TWO NOTES.
WHAT'S THAT? OH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST TWO NOTES.
I HAVE THE FIRST TWO NOTES, ACTUALLY, CYNTHIA HIBBARD AND ALSO TOM ROSSON, WHO WERE ON THE, UH, NET ZERO ACTION PLAN SUBCOMMITTEE ALONG WITH MEGAN.
WERE NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY, SO I'M TAKING OVER TO MORE THINGS.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW THE ELECTRIFY CAMBRIDGE IS KIND OF THE VERSION OF THE ONE STOP PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO GET ASSISTANCE AROUND ANYTHING AROUND ELECTRIFICATION.
AND IT LINKS TO, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY SOLAR AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMUNITY ENERGY PROGRAM'S WEBSITE AND THE COMMUNITY CAMBRIDGE ENERGY HOTLINE HELPLINE WILL TAKE THAT OVER.
BUT JUST, WE WANNA, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE KNOW A LOT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT THEIR OPPORTUNITIES ARE, BUT MANY, MANY PEOPLE IN CAMBRIDGE DON'T KNOW THAT MUCH YET ABOUT WHAT THE CITY'S DOING AND WHAT'S HOPEFUL ABOUT IT AND WHAT THEIR OPPORTUNITIES ARE TO PARTICIPATE IN, UH, THIS EFFORT TO REDUCE EMISSIONS AND INCREASE RESILIENCE.
UM, AND THEN THE BUTYL RESOURCE HUB, I MEAN, THAT WAS ALREADY TALKED ABOUT.
JUST, UM, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE FUNDING AND BE ABLE TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, SUBSTANTIAL, UH, RESOURCE FOR THE BUTO BUILDING OWNERS AS THEY GO ABOUT COMPLYING WITH THE REGULATIONS.
AND I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WE, WE, WE, WE CALLED THIS, UM, PRIORITY RECOMMENDATION ENGAGEMENT FROM COMMUNICATION TO CAPACITY BUILDING.
WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT ENGAGEMENT IS VERY VAGUE AND THERE'S MANY FORMS OF ENGAGEMENT, AND ON ONE END IT'S JUST MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE AWARE.
BUT ON ANOTHER FAR END, IT'S MAKING SURE PEOPLE KNOW THAT THOSE RANGES OF ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO THAT'S THE LAST POINT, THE ACTIVE OUTREACH AND CAPACITY BUILDING.
SO AGAIN, THERE IS A LOT OF COMMUNICATION THAT THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING, AND WE ARE, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY TO THINK ABOUT HAVING CLEAR OPTIONS FOR CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT.
AND WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT JUST HOW TO REALLY SHOWCASE THAT RANGE OF ENGAGEMENT FROM WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO, UM, LIKE HOW WILL OUR, LIKE HOW WILL CLIMATE ACTIONS AFFECT FOLKS, AND THEN ALSO HOW CAN THEY HELP AC HELP HELP THE CITY ACCOMPLISH ITS CLIMATE ACTION GOALS? UM, ON ANOTHER NOTE, WE ARE REALLY ADVISING TO CONTINUE INVESTING IN PROGRAMS TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.
THAT INCLUDES COMMUNITY GROUPS, CHURCHES, WORKPLACES, AND SCHOOLS.
UM, THE CITY ALREADY HAS PROGRAMS TO DO OUTREACH AND TO REACH THESE COMMUNITIES.
AND WE THINK THAT BY MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, THAT'S, UM, HOW PEOPLE, IT'LL MAKE EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO ENGAGE.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF GROUPS IN, ESPECIALLY IN CAMBRIDGE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN CLIMATE AND THINKING ABOUT HOW TO REALLY SIM UM, HOW TO REALLY INTEGRATE THESE IN PEOPLE'S ALREADY WORKFLOWS, UM, WILL REALLY HELP US ACCOMPLISH THESE, UM, THESE ACTIONS TOWARDS, UM, CLIMATE AND OUR, OUR AND OUR, AND OUR GOALS.
UM, SO, AND WE ESPECIALLY WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, THERE ARE HARDER TO REACH COMMUNITIES.
AND SO REALLY THINKING ABOUT STRATEGIES TO REACH THOSE FOLKS, UM, THOSE DISADVANTAGED FOLKS OR THOSE FOLKS WHO MAYBE DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, UM, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL.
AND SO THAT REALLY IS A SUBSET OF MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, LASTLY ON THIS POINT, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT STRENGTHENING COLLABORATION BETWEEN CITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS AND LEADERS OF EXISTING COMMUNITY AND CLIMATE GROUPS, INCLUDING STATE AND NATIONAL ONES, SO STRENGTHENING COLLABORATION.
AND, UM, SO WE, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF EXISTING, UM, COMMUNITY AND CLIMATE GROUPS, UM, IN CAMBRIDGE THREE 50 MASS IS AS ACTIVE.
UM, SIERRA CLUB IS ACTIVE, MOTHERS OUT FRONT IS ACTIVE.
UM, SO ARE MANY STUDENT GROUPS, UM, BOTH ON THE, THE, UM, THE YOUTH SIDE, UM, INCLUDING K THROUGH 12 AS WELL AS, UM, HARVARD AND MIT AND OTHER, UM, IN OTHER COLLEGES, STUDENT GROUPS.
UM, AND WE REALLY THINK THAT BY INVESTING IN LEADERS, IT WOULD HELP CAPACITY BUILD, UM, SO THAT, UM, WE KNOW THE CITY AND THE, AND COUNCIL ARE VERY, UM, HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO AND THERE IS A LOTS OF WORK TO DO IN CLIMATE.
AND SO REALLY THINKING ABOUT INVESTING IN LEADERS HELPS TO BREAK DOWN, UM, HOW WE CAN MOVE ALONG WITH, UM, THESE, UM, CLIMATE GOALS, UM, AND STRATEGIZE.
AND THE LAST RECOMMENDATION WE HAVE IS OVER THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
AND WE WANTED TO QUICKLY JUST GIVE A OVERVIEW OF WHAT THERMAL, THERMAL THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS ARE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW.
AND SO MANY PEOPLE, WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT GEOTHERMAL ENERGY, THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT DRILLING DEEP, UM, UNDERGROUND, AND THAT IS, UM, GEO POWER.
SO THAT'S GETTING ELECTRICITY.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, UM, THERMAL ENGINE NETWORKS ALSO KNOWN AS NETWORK GEOTHERMAL.
IT'S FOR HEATING AND COOLING SHALLOW.
UM, IF, IF YOU DRILL DOWN A BIT MORE SHALLOW ADEPT AND IT ALLOWS, UM, MANY BUILDING TO BE CONNECTED TOGETHER AND YOU, IF ONE BUILDING NEEDS HEAT COOLING AND ANOTHER BUILDING NEEDS HEATING, YOU CAN BASICALLY SHARE THE LOADS AND YOU CAN REALLY TAP INTO OTHER THERMAL SOURCES, SINKS AND ASSETS.
SO, UM, AND THE, BASICALLY THE LARGER THESE, UM, THESE THERMAL ENGINE NETWORKS GET THE MORE COST EFFECTIVE, RELIABLE, RESILIENT, AND
[01:05:01]
EFFICIENT THEY ARE.AND SO YOU CAN REALLY BUILD UPON THEM AND LIKE LEGO BLOCKS.
AND, UM, SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO SEE ALL THE, THAT CITY OF CAMBRIDGE IS DOING WITH THERMAL ENGINE NETWORKS, INCLUDING THE ONGOING FEASIBILITY STUDY.
UM, AND THERE ARE ALSO A, A LOT OF STATE ENABLERS INCLUDING, UM, UM, THE, THE STATE AND FEDERAL ENABLERS INCLUDING INCENTIVES AS WELL AS ALLOWING THE UTILITIES TO NOW BE THERMAL UTILITIES, GAS UTILITIES TO BE THERMAL UTILITIES.
UM, AND WE ARE ENCOURAGING THAT SUPPORTIVE, THAT ONGOING FEASIBILITY STUDY.
AND WE'RE ALSO ENCOURAGING CO COORDINATION ACROSS MANY OTHER ACTORS.
WE HAVE, UM, WE'LL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT IN THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT, UM, THAT, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE A LOT OF, A LOT OF OTHER FOLKS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.
ALSO WORKING ON THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS, INCLUDING SOME GROUPS IN, IN, UM, INCLUDING THE BOSTON GREEN DRIVEN COMMISSION AND THE, UM, AND MIT GROUPS, LIKE MITD LAB, GEO, MIT, UM, MIT ALUMNI FOR CLIMATE ACTION, RENEWABLE INJURY SIGHTING CLINIC, RUN ON CLIMATE AND OTHER NATIONAL AND, UM, REGIONAL TENS, THERMO ENGINE NETWORKS AND CLIMATE SPECIALIST GROUPS.
UM, WE ARE ALSO, SO WE ARE ADVISING TO FORM A WORKING GROUP TO SHARE THIS TECHNICAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EXPERTISE AND TO REALLY LEVERAGE THESE, UM, OTHER GROUPS, UM, TO ADD MORE CAPACITY TO THE CITY'S AND WORK ON THERMAL ENGINE NETWORKS.
AND SECONDLY, WE WANTED TO ENCOURAGE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HARVARD, MIT AND OTHER LARGE BUILDING OWNERS TO BECOME ANCHOR TENANTS FOR THERMAL ENGINE ENGINE NETWORKS.
UM, THIS ALSO TIES INTO THE, THE WORK OF BUTO, WHICH REQUIRES COVERED MIT AND OTHER LARGE BUILDING OWNERS TO, UM, REACH NET ZERO GOALS BY 20, UM, 35.
AND, UM, WE WERE, WE, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THESE, UM, THERE ARE, THESE ARE, THESE ARE MULTIPLE BUILDINGS ALL UNDER THE SAME OWNER, WHICH MAKES IT REALLY MUCH MORE SIMPLER TO, UM, TO DO THERMO ENGINE NETWORKS.
AND LASTLY, UM, WE WANTED TO NOTE THAT CAMBRIDGE IS IN A VERY PROMISING POSITION BECAUSE IT IS A GAS ISLAND.
UM, AND THE GAS AND ELECTRICITY IS OWNED BY ONE UTILITY, WHICH IS EVERSOURCE, WHO IS ALSO THE SAME, UM, UTILITY THAT DID THE, UM, HELPED WITH THE FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS THERMAL ENGINE NETWORK PILOTS.
THEN THAT'S, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO JOEL.
UH, SO JUST FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR, WE, LIKE I SAID, WE MEET ONCE A MONTH.
WE MEET ON THE SECOND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH, EXCEPT FOR IN AUGUST FROM 60 8:00 PM ALMOST ALWAYS IN THE CITY HALL AND ANNEX.
UH, OUR MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT NEAR THE END.
IT'S A GREAT WAY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, UH, CLIMATE ISSUES AS WE HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN OUR STAFF AND C AND UH, C COMMITTEE, BUT ALSO VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE GUESTS COMING TO PRESENT.
UM, THE COMMITTEE'S, ONE OF THE MANY COMMITTEES AND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR THE CITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, SUZANNE AND OTHERS, UH, OPEN UP APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS OR SO AS NEEDED.
UH, SO THERE'S A LINK IN THERE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, OUR COMMITTEE WEBPAGE, WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UH, YOUR ATTENTION ON THESE ISSUES AND GIVING US A CHANCE TO SHARE.
UM, AND WE'LL JUST SAY THAT THERE'S A FEW MORE SLIDES IN AN APPENDIX, SO THAT ARE, UM, MAYBE YOU CAN JUST SAY A COUPLE OF SENTENCES ABOUT THEM, MEGAN, SO PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT THEM IF THEY WANT.
NOT JUST TO GO THROUGH THEM, BUT JUST TO, TO SAY WHAT THEY ARE.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST THE ENERGY USE BREAKDOWN.
UM, YEAH, THESE ARE THE, THE REST OF THE RESOURCES ARE A FEW MORE, UM, JUST RESOURCES ON THERMO ENERGY NETWORKS AND HOW ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, IT WORKS.
JUST WANTED TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THEM.
ALL RIGHT, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN WAITING.
I KNOW IT WAS A LOT AND IT TOOK A WHILE.
UM, UH, HOWEVER, IT COVERED A TON OF GROUND AND WE ONLY DO THIS ONCE A YEAR, SO MAYBE I, UM, SO WE'LL GO TO SUSAN MURCOTT AND THEN QUENTIN ZONDERVAN VAN.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, GO AHEAD.
I'VE BEEN TEACHING AT MIT SINCE 1998, AND I WORK IN A PROGRAM CALLED D LAB.
I CO-CHAIR A WORKING GROUP OF MIT ALUMNI FOR CLIMATE ACTION, FOCUSED ON ADVANCING THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS ON AND BEYOND THE MIT CAMPUS.
OUR GROUP INCLUDES EXPERTS, INCLUDING ONE WHO WAS FORMERLY THE OWNER OF THE VICINITY PLANT IN CAMBRIDGE.
ONE WHO MANAGES FINANCE OR MANAGED FINANCES FOR LARGE AUTO MAKERS IN THEIR CONVERSION TO EVS, ESPECIALLY A FINANCIAL MANAGER, SEVERAL
[01:10:01]
WHO ARE ENGINEER CONSULTANTS TO THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS AND WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE.UM, THE, THESE MIT ALUMS ARE EAGER AS MI TO ASSIST THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE IN ITS PURSUIT OF THE TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE COMMITTEE'S, UM, UH, EMBRACE OF THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
AND I'M ALSO EXCITED ABOUT THE BOSTON GREEN RIBBON COMMISSIONS PROPOSAL FOR CLEAN ENERGY THERMAL STUDY WHERE CAMBRIDGE, HARVARD, MIT, AND OTHER POTENTIAL PARTNERS ARE ENGAGED.
SO I STRONGLY SUPPORT, UM, MEGAN'S COMMENT OR RECOMMENDATION OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE TO ENCOURAGE THE CITY, UH, AND, AND MIT AND HARVARD TO FORM A WORKING GROUP TO SHARE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC EXPERTISE.
SINCE, UH, LAST YEAR, I'VE TAUGHT A NEW COURSE FIRST IN THE NORTH AMERICA CALLED THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS IN IT UNDERGRADS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS.
AND ALSO, UM, THERE ARE ALUMS AND, UM, AND LISTENERS WHO ARE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE ENGAGING IN FEASIBILITY STUDIES OF POTENTIAL THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
THERE ARE FIVE PROJECTS THIS TERM, SEVERAL OF THEM ARE IN CAMBRIDGE, AND I WON'T TAKE THE TIME TO ENUMERATE THEM, BUT TO SAY JUST ONE, UH, BUILDING N 51, N 52 IS AT 2 65 MASS AVE.
IT'S A BUILDING THAT'S NOT CONNECTED TO THE CENTRAL UTILITIES PLANT.
AND SO IT WILL NEVER BE PART OF MIT ADMINISTRATION'S OVERALL DECARBONIZATION PLAN.
BUT IT IS AN IDEAL SITE AS AN ANCHOR TENANT BECAUSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE ARE CAFES, RESTAURANTS, A BIKE SHOP, UH, BIOTECH COMPANY, NOVARTIS, AND, UM, MIT DORMS. IT COULD BE, UH, A THERMAL ENERGY NETWORK SITE.
UM, MIT HAS A NUCLEAR REACTOR, UH, RESEARCH LAB FOR MANY DECADES, AND IT PRODUCES 60 MEGAWATTS OF WASTE HEAT, UM, THAT WASTE HEAT COULD BE USE OF IT'S 120 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, WHICH IS AN IDEAL USABLE SOURCE FOR AN AMBIENT LOOP.
IT WOULD MEET UP, MATCH UP VERY WELL WITH THE CONSULTANTS CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANTS PROJECT.
AND THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHERS, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME, UM, SIMPLY SAYING THAT, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE WITH YOU, THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND OTHERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, QUENTIN ZONDERMAN, THANK YOU, CHAIR NOLAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF.
I REALLY MISS BEING THERE WITH YOU ALL AND GOING TO THOSE CLIMATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS EVERY MONTH.
UM, THANKS FOR THE HEARING AND FOR YOUR ONGOING EFFORTS.
IT'S REALLY, UH, IMPRESSIVE WHAT CAMBRIDGE HAS BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND I'M OF COURSE PROUD OF MY CONTRIBUTIONS AS A FORMER RESIDENT AND CITY COUNSELOR.
BUT NOW AS A, UH, POLICY DIRECTOR AT AROUND CLIMATE, WHICH IS A NONPROFIT I JOINED IN THE FALL OF 2024, I'M STILL HERE TO HELP.
WE PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WITH POLICY RESEARCH, INTERN ASSIGNMENTS, NETWORKING, PEER-TO-PEER INFORMATION SHARING, AND WE WORK WITH ACTIVISTS, ADVOCATES, CITY STAFF, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL OFFICE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ADVANCE CLIMATE ACTION AT THE MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY LEVEL.
AND THREE MEMBERS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL ARE MEMBERS OF OUR LOCAL CLIMATE POLICY NETWORK.
THAT'S THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF ANY OF OUR 30 CITIES AND TOWNS PARTICIPATING IN THE NETWORK.
CAMBRIDGE IS VERY WELL REPRESENTED AND REMAINS AT THE FOREFRONT OF CLIMATE ACTION AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, AND WE NEED YOU TO SUCCEED SO THAT OTHERS CAN FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS.
AROUND CLIMATE IS FINALIZING OUR THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS POLICY AUDIT, AND MEGAN IS IS VERY ACTIVE IN, IN HELPING US WITH THIS WORK, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO CONDUCT THIS AUDIT FOR CAMBRIDGE VERY SOON.
THIS WILL HELP US IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCING THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS IN CAMBRIDGE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO RE REGARDING THE N ZAP REPORT SPECIFICALLY, I THINK OVERALL CAMBRIDGE IS CONTINUING TO MAKE GREAT PROCE PROGRESS, AND THAT'S GREAT TO SEE, ESPECIALLY HEARTENED BY THE COMMUNITY SOLAR AND RENEWABLE ENERGY EFFORTS IN THE CCE.
AND WE'RE ACTIVELY PROMOTING YOUR VPPA MODEL, UH, AT, AT RUN ON CLIMATE FOR OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR NETWORK.
I ALSO FULLY SUPPORT THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE'S LETTER IS VERY STRONG, AND I AGREE WITH ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO FIRST, THE ACTION 1.3 UPGRADES AT THE TRANSACTION POINTS.
IT'S VERY UNFORTUNATE THAT THIS IS ON HOLD AND I STRONGLY URGE YOU
[01:15:01]
TO IMPLEMENT THESE STRATEGIES IMMEDIATELY.WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THEM FOR MANY YEARS, AND THERE'S SOME VERY LOW HANGING FRUIT THERE, SUCH AS REQUIRING AN ENERGY AUDIT AT TIME OF SALE AND PROHIBITING FOSSIL FUEL HEATING REPLACEMENTS UNLESS E ELECTRIFICATION IS ECONOMICALLY INFEASIBLE.
SO YOU CAN PROTECT THESE POLICIES FROM, UH, PRODUCING BURDENSOME COST INCREASES.
IN GENERAL, YOU'RE NOT DOING WELL AT ALL ON THE AREA, ONE FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS, AND THAT'S VERY UNFORTUNATE.
THE ONLY AREA THAT'S MARKED GREEN IS THE BU COMPLIANCE PERIOD, WHICH STARTS NOW, AND WE WON'T KNOW HOW WELL IT SUCCEEDED UNTIL FIVE YEARS FROM NOW.
SO I REALLY URGE YOU TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S MEASURABLE PROGRESS POINTS ALONG THE WAY SO THAT WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, HERE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED.
AND THEN LASTLY, I RECOMMEND PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO PLUGIN SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, THESE ARE REALLY EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO ALLOW RESIDENTS TO REDUCE THEIR, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY COSTS.
AND PLUGIN SOLAR IS NOT GONNA RESULT IN A LOT OF NEW SOLAR CAPACITY BECAUSE THE SYSTEMS ARE VERY SMALL, BUT IT WILL RESULT IN A LOT OF NEW PARTICIPANTS IN SOLAR, AND THAT'S CRITICAL IN, IN OUR SUCCESS.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO LEAN ON BECOMING MUCH MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AS OUR STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS CONTINUE TO FAIL AND TO OUTRIGHT OBSTRUCT OUR PROGRESS.
THANKS AGAIN, AND PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE, I WILL REVIEW QUICKLY.
WE HAVE A THIRD PERSON IN PUBLIC COMMENT WHO SAID HE COULDN'T BE HERE.
HE IS A FORMER CHAIR AND 20 YEAR MEMBER OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
DAVID RABKIN, WHO IN FULL DISCLOSURE IS MARRIED TO ME,
SO I'M JUST IN FULL DISCLOSURE SAY, BUT HE DID WRITE A LETTER, WHICH I'LL PUT IN THE PUBLIC RECORD.
HE HAD HOPED TO BE HERE AND TEXTED ME AND SAID, CAN YOU READ MY LETTER INSTEAD? SO I'LL READ SOME OF IT TO THE HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE.
AS YOU WELL KNOW, THE POLITICAL AND PERHAPS ECONOMIC CONTEXT IN WHICH WE DO OUR CLIMATE RELATED WORK HAS CHANGED.
CLIMATE SCIENCE IS IGNORED OR DENIED BY OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND WORK ON BOTH MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION FACE HEAVY OPPOSITION FEDERALLY AS WELL.
HALTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMICALLY VIABLE WIND PROJECTS VERY CLOSE TO COMPLIANCE DEMONSTRATES THAT TODAY'S EXTREME POLITICS RATHER THAN COMMON SENSE ETHICS OR EVEN ECONOMICS ARE DRIVING FEDERAL POLICY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR CAMBRIDGE? THAT WE NEED TO STEP UP, THAT OUR PRIMARY FOCUS HAS TO EXPAND FROM PLANNING TO A COMBINATION OF CONTINUED PLANNING AND ACTIVE AGGRESSIVE SUPPORT OF THE PROGRAMS WE IMPLEMENT.
FAILURE LEADING TO LEARNING ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH AND FAILING TO MEET OUR GOALS IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNACCEPTABLE.
FIRST, THERE'S BUTO, WHICH ASKS A LOT OF OUR LARGE PROPERTY OWNERS.
THE REQUIRED CONVERSIONS ARE CHALLENGING, REQUIRE KNOW-HOW AND DEMAND UPFRONT INVESTMENT, BUT WE NEED THESE BUILDINGS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, TO STAY IN CAMBRIDGE AND TO MAKE CHANGES.
SO WE WANT TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES, AND OUR GOALS REQUIRE THAT BETO BE CAREFULLY MONITORED AND WELL SUPPORTED.
SECOND, THE DECARBONIZATION OF OUR CITY'S RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE.
SOME WILL ARGUE IT'S SUCH A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF OUR TOTAL EMISSIONS THAT FOCUSING ON IT ISN'T WORTH THE HASSLE.
THERE'S NO DOUBT IT WILL BE CHALLENGING.
AND AS WITH BUTO, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE BOTH THE SPECIAL POSITION THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE OCCUPIES, AS WELL AS THE PATH BY WHICH WE HAVE MEANINGFUL, POSITIVE GLOBAL IMPACT.
SO I URGE US TO CONTINUE ON THAT PATH BECAUSE WE HAVE THE KNOW-HOW AND RESOURCES TO BE A LEADER, AND OUR PRIMARY IMPACT COMES INDIRECTLY THROUGH THE INDIRECT IMPACT WE HAVE ON OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS.
UH, SO, AND THEN HE SIGNED IT, SO I'LL SEND IT OUT.
BUT I DID WANNA MAKE SURE I, I SAID THAT BEFORE I GO TO OTHER COUNSELORS.
I, I, I DID WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT SOME OF OUR PROUDEST MOMENTS.
AND AS, UH, CHIEF FORMS ARE NOTED, WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, BUT SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK IS ACTUALLY THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE ORDINANCE.
AND THAT IS ONLY DUE TO THE STATE ALLOWING US TO, AND ALSO THIS COUNCIL FOCUSING REALLY HARD ON DOING IT BECAUSE IT WAS A COUNCIL ACTION THAT LED US THERE.
AND, UH, FORMER COUNSELOR, QUENTIN ZONDERVAN WAS CENTRAL TO THAT EFFORT.
SO I I, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE IT.
EVERY TIME WE TALK ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT IT HAS HELPED MOVE OUR CITY FORWARD AND ALSO REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CONNOLLY, WITHOUT WHOM IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED EITHER BECAUSE HE STEPPED IN AT THE LAST MOMENT WHEN IT WAS NOT CLEAR THAT WE WERE GONNA BE ALLOWED TO DO THAT AND MADE SURE THAT IT HAPPENED AT THE STATE LEVEL.
SO I JUST WANTED TO DO THAT SHOUT OUT.
UM, AND VERY EXCITED ALSO FOR THOSE, UH, ON THE COUNCIL OR OTHERWISE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE LETTER, WHICH IS, UH, A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT GOES INTO IT.
I KNOW IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT TO DO THIS LETTER.
IT'S VERY THOROUGH AND COMPREHENSIVE, AND FRANKLY, WE SET UP THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE SPECIFICALLY IN ORDER TO
[01:20:01]
ADVISE THE CITY AS A WHOLE, NOT JUST THE CITY MANAGER, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY STAFF.SO IT, IT, IT DOESN'T GO UNNOTICED.
I'M THINKING OF PLEASE CONVEY THAT TO THE REST OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AS WELL.
BUT WE NEED YOU TO CONTINUE TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE AND TO HOLD AND FOR THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, WE ALL ARE IN THIS TOGETHER AND WE HAVE COMMON GOALS, BUT I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT I UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT GOES INTO NOT JUST THE WORK OF THE FABULOUS STAFF WE HAVE HERE AND ALSO THE VOLUNTEER CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
SO I DON'T, UH, WHO I WANNA START WITH IF, UH, COUNCILOR ZUBIE OR COUNCILOR ZUI WANNA START WITH ANY UPDATE OR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCILOR ZUI.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP OF THIS COMMITTEE AND YOUR WORK, UH, ON THIS FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND I THINK ALL OF YOU, UM, STAFF AND THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THIS WORK AND THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE.
UM, SO I, I JUST, SO BUTO PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE, UM, REQUIRED THIS YEAR FOR LARGER BUILDINGS.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE SEEING? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN REPORT ON AND TELL US? I, I KNOW, UM, FROM THE KENDALL SQUARE, UM, UH, AT FROM THE CHAMBER ATTENDING A, AN EVENT AT THE CHAMBER, THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE THAT WERE REALLY NERVOUS ABOUT, UM, HAVING TO FINALLY FACE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.
WHAT ARE THEY? WHAT'S HAPPENING? THANK YOU.
SO, OF COURSE THERE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS INTEREST IN THE REGULATIONS THAT WE'RE WRITING.
UM, WE HAD THE ORDINANCE, AND THE ORDINANCE DOES PROVIDE THE FRAMEWORK, BUT THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE PAST YEAR TO REALLY, UM, DEFINE SPECIFICALLY WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COMPLY, HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY COMPLY? SO A LOT, LOT OF INTEREST, LOT OF LIKE, UM, WORRY LIKE, WHAT IF WE CAN'T DO IT? HOW, HOW, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO US? AND SO WE'VE BEEN DOING, UH, A NUMBER OF, OF MEETINGS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE LARGEST BUILDING OWNERS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE ALREADY, WHO ARE ALREADY SUBJECT, UH, TO THE ORDINANCE.
BUT WE'VE ALSO HAD MEETINGS LIKE WITH THE CENTRAL SQUARE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION AND REALLY HELPING WALK PEOPLE THROUGH LIKE, HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY PRACTICALLY, UM, DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU'RE COMPLYING? UM, I WILL SAY THAT I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF CAPACITY IN, IN THESE LARGEST BUILDINGS TO MEET THE, THE FIRST, UM, UM, 20% REDUCTION REQUIREMENT.
UH, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT.
FOR STARTERS, IF YOU'VE ALREADY DONE WORK, YOU GET TO COUNT THAT.
WE, WE ALLOW PEOPLE TO HAVE THEIR STARTING POINT GO AS FAR BACK AS 2010.
SO, UH, PEOPLE WHO'VE ACTUALLY BEEN PURSUING DECARBONIZATION ARE NOT GOING TO BE PUNISHED FOR HAVING BEEN SORT OF EARLY ADOPTERS.
AND PEOPLE RIGHT NOW ARE IN THE PROCESS OF TELLING US WHAT THEIR BASELINE IS.
WE EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE A BUNCH THAT HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED WHAT THEY NEED TO ACHIEVE IN THIS FIRST PERIOD.
UH, THE THE NEXT THING IS, UH, TO INVEST IN RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY.
AND I, I THINK ACTUALLY THIS IS A VERY EXCITING FOR US BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME, DO WE GET TO UNDERSTAND WHO IS ALREADY DOING THAT? AND WE'VE SORT OF BEEN SPYING ON PEOPLE'S CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS AND SEE THAT A LOT OF THE, THE, UM, BUSINESSES THAT ARE, ESPECIALLY TENANTS THAT ARE, ARE, UM, IN OUR LARGEST BUILDINGS ALREADY ARE OFFSETTING THEIR, UM, ELECTRICITY EMISSIONS IN THE WAY, THE SAME WAY THAT WE ARE DOING THROUGH THE VIRTUAL POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS.
SO I, I THINK OUR SENSE IS THAT THIS FIRST PERIOD IS, IS GONNA BE, UM, FAIRLY SMOOTH IN THE SENSE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CAPACITY AND, AND THE REQUIREMENT IN THE FIRST FEW YEARS IS, IS WITHIN, DOESN'T REQUIRE YOU TO DO SOME REALLY DRAMATIC CHANGES OF YOUR BUILDING.
I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON AS, AS HIL MENTIONED, UM, PUTTING, SETTING UP PROGRAMS TO HELP SUPPORT THE NEXT LEVEL OF BUILDINGS.
LIKE NOW WE'RE INTO THE MID-SIZE TO 25,000 TO UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET, WHERE THERE PROBABLY IS, UM, NEED FOR A, A LOT MORE SUPPORT.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING THAT OUT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
OH, DID YOU WANNA ADD? I JUST WANTED TO, TO ADD TO WHAT SUZANNE SAID, I'D SAY ONE THING IS, UM, THERE'S A BENEFIT FOR THE CITY TO ALSO BE REGULATED UNDER OUR OWN REGULATION
[01:25:01]
BECAUSE WE'RE, WE ARE ALL LEARNING COLLECTIVELY AND, AND THERE IS A SENSE OF WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.I WOULD SAY THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, I THINK IT'S VERY GOOD THAT THE LARGER BUILDINGS ARE GOING FIRST BECAUSE I THINK MY SENSE OF IT IS THE FOLKS WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY STAFF HAVE A MUCH BETTER SENSE OF WHAT THEY NEED TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE TOUGHER FOR THE SMALLER BEDO BUILDINGS LIKE THE CHURCHES WHO DON'T HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE LARGER, HIGHER RESOURCED BUILDINGS TO THEN HELP THESE GUYS BETTER.
SO IT'S, I'M, I'M HAPPY FOR THAT STAGGERED START.
UM, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HEAR FROM SUSAN MURCOTT.
UM, AND TO HEAR THAT HARVARD AND MIT AND THE CITY ARE ALREADY WORKING, YOU HAVE A WORKING GROUP AND UH, ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW YOU CAN USE THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS TO, UH, PROVIDE US WITH ENERGY.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE? IS THERE, DO YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF TIMELINE FOR WHEN WE MIGHT ANTICIPATE A THERMAL ENERGY NETWORK IN CAMBRIDGE? I KNOW YOU'RE ACTIVELY DOING WORK ON THIS NOW.
WE HAVE A VERY TALENTED, UH, PERSON ON OUR STAFF, ARINA KEEF, WHO'S BEEN, UM, WORKING ON, BOY, THE NAME'S CHANGING.
IT WAS GEOTHERMAL THEN IT WAS THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS.
MAYBE IT'S NOW CLEAN THERMAL NETWORKS, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT'S LIKE, WE'RE NOT GETTING THE ACRONYM QUITE RIGHT YET.
SO MAYBE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLEAN THERMAL.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT THERE ARE, UM, THREE SCALES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT GEOTHERMAL.
UM, WE DID, LOOK, WE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK CITYWIDE.
UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ARINA TALKED WITH THE, UM, CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE COMMITTEE ABOUT.
WE'RE LOOKING CITYWIDE, UM, WITH THE BUDGET CRUNCH.
THE CITY'S NOT PREPARED TO PUT IN A BIG NEW PROJECT, UM, ANYTIME SOON FOR A GEOTHERMAL NETWORK.
WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS SAYING, LET'S SCOPE OUT WHAT'S FEASIBLE.
LET'S CHOOSE ONE SITE FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SITE IS GOING FORWARD TODAY.
'CAUSE WE'RE LEARNING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S, IT'S PRETTY COMPLEX TO DO A RETROFIT OF GEOTHERMAL IN AN EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THE EASIEST PLACES TO DO IT ARE PARKS.
AND WE DON'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PICK ON OUR PARKS ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE, UM, AS WE'RE LOOKING FOR VIABLE SITES.
SO, UM, WE ARE LEARNING A TON THROUGH THIS, UH, FEASIBILITY STUDY.
I THINK OUR INITIAL HOPE WAS TO GET A SITE AND MOVE FORWARD.
AND I THINK SOME OF THE HEADWINDS HAVE HAD US SAY, LET'S CHOOSE A SITE TO MODEL, NOT TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE MOMENT.
THAT SAID, THERE'S TWO VERY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES MOVING FORWARD.
THERE ARE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE BEING, UM, RENOVATED.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE ALEWIFE QUAD QUADRANGLE AROUND, UM, ALEWIFE NEAR FRESH POND.
THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A AND, AND IT'S UNDER THE FOSSIL FUEL FREE AND SPECIALIZED ENERGY STRETCH CODE.
THAT'S A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD THAT NEEDS TO BE, UM, FOSSIL FUEL FREE.
AND SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT GEOTHERMAL IN BEFORE THE BUILDINGS ARE BUILT.
ALSO, AS WE ARE REDEVELOPING IN CAMBRIDGE, GEOTHERMAL UNDER A NEW BUILDING IS A MUCH DIFFERENT, UM, CHALLENGE, MUCH SMALLER CHALLENGE THAN, UM, TRYING TO FIT GEOTHERMAL WITH EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WITHOUT A DOUBT, GEOTHERMAL'S GONNA MOVE FORWARD IN, IN CAMBRIDGE AND LIKE MANY CLEAN ENERGY EFFORTS, IT'S EASIER TO DO ON NEW CONSTRUCTION THAN RETROFIT.
THE THIRD EXCITING PIECE, AND THERE WAS A MIT AND HARVARD AND GREEN RIBBON COMMISSION, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY BOSTON.
AND, AND, UM, SOME UTILITIES WENT, THEY WENT TO DENMARK AND GERMANY WHERE THEY'RE DOING HYDROTHERMAL.
THEY'RE TAKING THE, UH, TEMPERATURE, THEY'RE THE NON-ZERO TEMPERATURE FROM SEAWATER AND, UM, AND USING IT TO, TO CREATE THERMAL ENERGY AT A CITY SCALE.
AND SO THERE'S A REAL, THERE'S A, THEY, THEY JUST RECEIVED A STATE GRANT TO LOOK AT THE FEASIBILITY OF DOING REALLY CITY SCALE OR MULTIPLE NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE.
UM, AGAIN, YOU DON'T CALL IT GEOTHERMAL WHEN YOU'RE USING WATER.
[01:30:01]
NETWORK, CLEAN THERMAL FROM EITHER THE CHARLES RIVER OR BOSTON HARBOR.AND WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN, IN THAT STUDY.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU AT ALL A, UM, A TIMELINE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE VERY ACTIVELY INTERESTED IN AND, AND LOOKING AT.
I MEAN, I THINK THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING A FIRST MOVER IS SOME THINGS PAN OUT, SOME THINGS PAN OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, BUT WE ARE IN, IN TERMS OF LIKE DECARBONIZATION FINANCING AND GEOTHERMAL WE'RE KIND OF WHERE WE WERE A FEW YEARS AGO WITH THE VPPA.
IT'S THAT BASELINE RESEARCH AND THEN FEASIBILITY AND THEN MOVING FORWARD.
BUT I THINK IT'LL BE JUST, I THINK THE END OF IT WILL BE JUST AS IMPACTFUL AS THE VPPA WAS.
AND I'D HEARD RUMOR OF THE HYDROTHERMAL, UH, PROJECT AND MAYBE IN THE CHARLES OR THE HARBOR, AND THEN THERE'S THE SALEM PROJECT TOO.
SO WE MAY LEARN, WE'VE LEARNING FROM FRAMINGHAM, WE'LL LEARN FROM SALEM.
SO WE ACTUALLY ASKED, WE, WE WORKED WITH THE SAME FOLKS WHO PULLED TOGETHER THE FRAMINGHAM STUDY AND WE ASKED, WELL, HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TRY US FIRST? AND THEN WE FOUND OUT, 'CAUSE YOUR LAND IS SO EXPENSIVE, YOUR PARKING LOTS ARE NOT GONNA STAY PARKING LOTS.
SO FRAMINGHAM HAS MORE OPPORTUNITY THAN WE DO FOR US.
YOU KNOW, OUR LAND IS SO EXPENSIVE THAT IT IS HARD TO KEEP OPEN SPACE THAT IS NOT ALREADY PUBLIC AND THERE'S NOT A TON OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE THAT'S NOT ALREADY A PARK.
SO IT'S, IT'S A LAND SQUEEZE FOR CAMBRIDGE.
WHY WE WEREN'T FIRST UNDERSTOOD.
YEAH, NO, I THOUGHT IT WAS FASCINATING THAT THEY, IN SALEM, THEY'RE USING THE COMMON AND THEY WERE USING THE BOSTON COMMON GARAGE AS A, UM, A PRECEDENT THAT THAT'S WHY THEY COULD DO IT UNDER THE, THE SALEM COLUMN COMMON.
I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL YIELD COUNT.
YEAH, I WANNA THANK YOU THROUGH YOUR CHAIR.
I WANNA JUST REALLY, AGAIN, APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN DOING ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, LEADERSHIP FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS, CITY STAFF, UH, ADVOCATES, THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE.
IT IS INCREDIBLE TO SEE THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING AND FOR US TO BE LEADING IN THIS WORK.
AND I KNOW THAT THE ROAD IS STILL LONG.
UM, AND SO IN THAT SENSE, I, I KNOW COUNCILLOR ZUZI BROUGHT UP THE COMPLIANCE PIECE ON BUDDO.
I, I'D LOVE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE EVALUATIONS PIECE.
'CAUSE I KNOW YOU BROUGHT UP THE, THAT YOU'LL, THAT WE'LL WANNA SEE A 20% REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS IN THAT FIRST PERIOD.
HAVE YOU ALL BEEN WORKING ON LIKE WHAT MEASURABLES ARE GONNA HELP TRACK THAT PROGRESS SO THAT OVER THE CO AT THE END OF THE FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SAY, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THIS DATA, WHAT WENT WRONG, WHAT WENT RIGHT, AND HOW CAN WE IMPROVE IT? UM, THANK YOU, UH, THROUGH YOU CHAIR.
UH, SO THE BUTO, UM, ORDINANCE BEGAN IN 2014 AS REQUIRING LARGE BUILDINGS TO TRACK AND REPORT THEIR ENERGY USE ANNUALLY TO THE CITY.
AND SO BASED ON THAT FOUNDATION, UH, THE BUILDING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ARE, ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED.
SO EVERY YEAR WE'RE GETTING DATA ON ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF THESE BUILDINGS.
SO, UM, THE, THESE LARGEST BUILDINGS THAT HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THEY CUT THEIR EMISSIONS, WE'LL GET THAT DATA, UM, STARTING NEXT YEAR IN 2027.
AND, YOU KNOW, EACH YEAR THEREAFTER, UM, I I, I THINK WHAT WE'LL EXPECT TO SEE IS THAT A LOT OF BUILDINGS ARE USING RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY, THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, BRINGING ON NEW SOLAR AND WIND AS, AS THEY'RE FIRST STRATEGY.
UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT THERE'S A, A LOT OF LESSONS THERE IN SCALING TO SMALLER BUILDINGS ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT, WHAT CHIEF WORMSER SAID, UM, AND THAT THERE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, OTHER LESSONS IN MAKING CHANGES TO HOW THEY OPERATE THEIR BUILDINGS.
UM, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL BUILDINGS CAN LEARN FROM, ESPECIALLY AS YOU LOOK TOWARDS HELPING THOSE MID-SIZE BUILDINGS.
UM, THE, THE ORDINANCE ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, AS PASSED BY COUNCIL ALSO HAS A SPECIFIC, UM, POINT OF REFLECTION IN 2028 IN WHICH, UH, OS WILL UNDERTAKE A REVIEW AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY POLICY CHANGES THAT THAT NEED TO BE MADE.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYE ON FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW.
AND IF, IF I MAY ADD THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR, UM, IT USED TO BE IN THE EARLY DAYS WE HAD THIS GIANT SPREADSHEET AND, AND IT'S LIKE MORE THAN A THOUSAND PROPERTIES THAT WE'RE TRACKING.
AND, BUT SINCE WE, NOW TO SPEAK TO THE NITTY GRITTY, WE ARE NOW WORKING THROUGH THIS PLATFORM THAT WAS DEVELOPED NATIONALLY FOR THE PURPOSES OF, OF CITIES THAT HAD BUILDING PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE A VERY HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL
[01:35:01]
TOOL THAT IS, THAT MAKES IT VERY EASY.PROPERTY OWNERS PUT THEIR DATA INTO A-A-E-P-A PIECE OF SOFTWARE CALLED PORTFOLIO MANAGER THAT THEY ARE USED TO USING, MANY OF THEM, UH, BECAUSE IT'S TIED TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS. AND THEN THAT GOES DIRECTLY INTO OUR SYSTEM CALLED BEAM.
SO IT, IT'S REALLY, UM, EASY BOTH ON THE PROPERTY OWNER END, AND IT'S EASY ON OUR END BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS VERY FLEXIBLE, UH, HIGH PERFORMANCE TOOL THAT ALLOWS US TO REALLY SEE EXACTLY WHAT'S COMING IN ON, AND BOTH IN TERMS OF, AND, AND CALCULATING THE EMISSIONS IMPACTS OF, OF, UH, WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING PRODUCED.
SO I I, WE'RE IN SO MUCH BETTER PLACE IN TERMS OF, OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
AND THAT IS COMBINED WITH, AS JULIE MENTIONED EARLIER, LIKE WE HAVE A REALLY HIGH, UH, REPORTING RATE.
WE'RE LIKE, UH, PAST 95%, I THINK WE'RE 97% COMPLIANCE WITH THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE, WE REALLY ARE VERY STRONGLY CONNECTED TO THE A THOUSAND PLUS PROPERTIES, AND WE NEED TO KEEP THAT NUMBER HIGH SO WE, SO WE ACTUALLY GET THE DATA AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
SO IT'S, THAT'S A REALLY BIG FOCUS, BUT WE'RE IN A, WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT IN TERMS OF, OF BEING ABLE TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION.
I JUST AN ASIDE ON, ON BUDDO IS WHAT WE AND BOSTON HAVE DONE IS CREATED A MUNICIPAL LEVEL CARBON MARKET.
LIKE WE PUT A PRICE ON CARBON EMISSIONS FROM LARGE BUILDINGS, AND THAT CREATES A MARKET FOR INNOVATION TO DECARBONIZE BUILDINGS.
AND I THINK THE END RESULT OF BUTO AND BOSTON'S ALBERTO AND UM, AND OTHERS IS NOT GONNA BE THAT EVERY SMALL VILLAGE DOES A BUILDING PERFORMANCE MEASURE OR STANDARD.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE THAT WE WILL SHOW HOW IT CAN BE DONE, AND THEN AT SOME POINT STATES LIKE MASSACHUSETTS WILL SAY IT'S, IT SHALL NOT BE LEGAL TO BUY AND INSTALL FOSSIL FUELS BECAUSE THAT'S THE PART WHERE YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO RECORD THINGS.
RIGHT? BUT, BUT THIS IS HOW YOU CREATE A MARKET FOR CHANGING OUT YOUR ELECTRICITY AND CHANGING OUT YOUR THERMAL ENERGY ESPECIALLY.
IT'S DEFINITELY HELPFUL TO KNOW THAT INFORMATION.
I KNOW THAT THAT'LL BE TOP OF MIND, ESPECIALLY AS WE APPROACH THIS FIRST YEAR OF, UH, COMPLIANCE.
AND I, I'M JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
I'M CURIOUS ON JUST, UM, MORE CONTEXT ON THE INSTITUTIONAL PIECE.
LIKE BETWEEN THESE UNIVERSITIES, MIT AND HARVARD, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE DEVELOPMENTS AROUND HOW TO CROSS COORDINATE AND COLLABORATE, UM, IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY.
DO YOU HAVE MORE CONTEXT AROUND, UM, THE ROLE THAT THESE INSTITUTIONS HAVE ON EMISSIONS? I KNOW PART OF THE ASSESSMENT ON COMPLIANCE OF BEDO IS TO ALLOW SOME OF THAT ASSESSMENT TO GO BACK FURTHER.
I'M CURIOUS IF THAT ALSO IS INFORMING SOME OF THAT WORK.
APPRECIATE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT THERE IF YOU HAVE IT.
SO, OF, OF COURSE, HARVARD AND MIT ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO BUTO IN, UH, GIVEN HOW MANY BUILDINGS THEY HAVE.
AND HARVARD HAS A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO BUTO.
MIT HAS FEWER, BUT THEY HAVE SOME REALLY BIG ENERGY USERS, UH, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SUCH A FOCUS ON, ON LIFE SCIENCE.
SO THEY, THEY ARE VERY CRITICAL AND BUTO ALLOWS FOR PROPERTY OWNERS THAT HAVE FIVE OR MORE BUILDINGS TO AGGREGATE THEM INTO A CAMPUS.
NOT A, NOT A ACADEMIC CAMPUS, BUT LIKE, JUST THEY CAN REPORT ON ALL THE BUILDINGS TOGETHER SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO LIKE SAY, OKAY, LIKE WHAT IS THAT BUILDING DOING OVER THERE AND WHAT'S THAT BUILDING DOING OVER THERE? BUT WHAT ARE THEY ACHIEVING IN THE AGGREGATE? AND WE KNOW THAT BOTH OF THEM WILL, ARE INTENDING TO, UM, COMPLY WITH BUTO IN THE AGGREGATE.
SO, UM, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A, A SORT OF KEY FACTOR.
UM, AND THEY, THEY HAVE BEEN MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS, I THINK IN, IN BOTH HARVARD AND MIT HAVE THE SAME GOALS THAT WE DO, WHICH IS ACTUALLY, UH, EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVELY LIKE NET ZERO THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THEY'RE ACHIEVING THAT
SO THEIR ALIGNMENT WITH THE BUTYL REQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE, UH, STRONG.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO SEE.
I I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT MEGAN, DID YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT? SURE.
UM, SO I, I, I'M A RECENT GRAD AT, AT MIT AND I, YOU'RE ALSO A RECENT
[01:40:01]
GRAD AT HARVARDS.UM, AND I, I WANTED TO, UM, UM, UH, TO ALSO CLARIFY THAT LIKE THE CITY HAS A MORE INDIRECT INFLUENCE BECAUSE THESE ARE PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS AND SO, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION.
UM, AND PARTICULARLY LIKE, UM, THIS IS JUST INFORMATION I GUESS IS LIKE MIT AND HARVARD ARE SOME TOP EMITTERS IN OF, OF LARGE BUILDING ISSUES IN CAMBRIDGE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE, THEY DO HAVE, UM, AGAIN, SECONDING, UM, SUZANNE'S, LIKE THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN CLIMATE ACTION PLANS.
UM, AND IN MY ROLE AT THE CAMBRIDGE CLIMATE CAPACITY, LIKE THAT'S WHAT I'LL SHARE.
BUT, UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MORE, UM, OF, OF THAT, I CAN FOLLOW UP AFTERWARDS.
I WOULD ALSO THROUGH, THROUGH YOU MADAM CHAIR.
UM, I WOULD ALSO SAY IT'S INCREDIBLY, I DON'T KNOW, INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL.
IS THAT A THING? IT'S WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL FOR BOSTON AND FOR CAMBRIDGE TO HAVE SUCH A WEALTH OF ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH.
SO NOT AT ALL A COINCIDENCE THAT OUR TWO CITIES ARE TAKING ON SOMETHING AS ROBUST, UM, A CHANGE AS BERDO AND BUTO.
AND IT IS THE UNIVERSITIES WHO ARE DOING A LOT OF THE EARLY CLIMATE TECH, A LOT OF THE EARLY DECARBONIZATION WORK, UM, BU IS A REAL LEADER AS WELL.
UM, ALL THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE TWO CITY GOVERNMENTS TALK TO EACH OTHER QUITE A BIT.
AND YOU KNOW, IT'S A RACE TO THE TOP, NOT THE BOTTOM.
UM, IT'S ALSO THE CASE FOR SOME OF THE, UM, PRIVATE SECTOR FOLKS AS WELL.
LIKE TAKEDA, YOU KNOW, I WAS TALKING WITH THEM AND SAYING, SO HOW YOU DOING WITH BUTO? AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, OUR STANDARDS ARE STRICTER THAN YOURS.
RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR CAMBRIDGE AND THE UNIVERSITIES AND, AND SOME OF OUR BIOTECH, UH, COLLEAGUES, UM, THIS IS A REALLY REPUTATIONAL GOAL, NOT JUST REGULATORY GOAL.
SO, UM, IT DOES FEEL LIKE A RACE TO THE TOP.
UM, WE GET VERY, VERY GOOD, UH, COMMENTS BACK FROM PEOPLE IN OUR, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THE REGULATIONS BETTER.
UM, WE HAVE REALLY GOOD CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS ABOUT, LIKE, YOU THINK IT WORKS THAT WAY? WE THINK IT WORKS THIS WAY.
LET'S FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UM, IT REALLY IS SOMETHING WHERE WE, I DON'T THINK EITHER OF US COULD DO IT BY OURSELVES AND WE'RE REALLY BENEFITED BY THE, BY OUR COLLEAGUES IN OTHER SECTORS.
I APPRECIATE THE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
UM, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING, I THINK TO MEGAN'S POINT, THAT THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE THE TOP EMITTERS IN THE CITY.
AND SO TO HEAR THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING THAT WORK WITH THEM IS GREAT TO HEAR.
IT'S PROMISING IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK ON SUSTAINABILITY.
AND JUST WANNA ALSO, UM, BRING A, A POINT MADE FROM PUBLIC COMMENT AS WELL THAT, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE POINTS ON LIKE ENERGY AUDITS AT THE TIME OF SALE.
IF, IF I, I CAN HELP ENCOURAGE OR FIND WAYS TO HELP DO THAT WORK, UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
AND I, I JUST ALSO WANNA APPRECIATE THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE BIG, ON THE BIG THREE THINGS TO FOCUS FROM BUTO, UM, REDUCING THE ELECTRIC GRID EMISSIONS IN THE LOW CARBON THERMAL NETWORKS I'LL YIELD.
COUNCIL, AZIM, DO YOU VICE MAYOR AZIM, DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NOT AT THIS TIME.
UM, I KNOW COUNCILOR ZI SAID SHE A COUPLE MORE.
I'LL JUST ASK, UM, ONE OR TWO THANKS.
IT'S ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR FOR ME.
SO LET'S, UM, VERY EXCITING TO CELEBRATE AND ALSO TO RECOGNIZE HOW MUCH MORE WE HAVE TO DO.
I KNOW THE FIRST STEP IN THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN FIVE YEAR REVIEW IS THE INVENTORY.
WHEN WILL WE GET THAT IT, BECAUSE IT SHOULD BE, IT SHOULD BE, UM, AVAILABLE BEFORE THE ENTIRE REVIEW IS DONE, SINCE THAT'S THE FIRST STEP, AND I KNOW IT'S BEEN IN PROCESS, ACTUALLY I THINK I, I READ OUR NOTES FROM LAST YEAR.
WE THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN LAST YEAR, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, IS IT ALREADY DONE AND WE'LL GET IT SOON OR, UM, THANK YOU.
SO WE HAVE BEEN, UM, WORKING ON THE INVENTORY SINCE, UH, THE FALL AND UH, THE, AS YOU KNOW, IT COVERS REALLY ALL SOURCES OF EMISSIONS IN CAMBRIDGE.
SO, UH, THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE THE TRANSPORTATION AND THE, UH, WASTE SECTORS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE COMING ALONG PRETTY WELL.
UM, THE BUILDING ENERGY DATA IS COMPLEX AND REQUIRES CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH OUR UTILITY PARTNERS.
AND SO REALLY CHASING DOWN ALL OF THAT DETAIL NEEDED TO MAKE SURE IT'S ACCURATE HAS, HAS, UM, HAS BEEN A PROCESS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, WE'RE WORKING ON ANALYZING THE UTILITY DATA NOW AND WE ARE AIMING TO, UH, COMPLETE THAT, UH, BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
[01:45:01]
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD HAVE, UH, SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT BEFORE THE, THE WHOLE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN UPDATE PROCESS.UM, SO BEFORE JUNE AND THEN, BUT IT WILL BE A COUPLE MORE MONTHS.
I WON'T, WE WON'T GET IT NEXT MONTH.
UM, WE WILL BE SHARING IT AS SOON AS IT'S AVAILABLE, BUT JUNE IS THE TARGET WITH IN OUR CONTRACT.
I'M ONLY ASKING 'CAUSE I NOTICED WHERE I BELIEVE IF MY RESEARCH IS RIGHT, THE GLOBAL COVENANT OF MAYORS REQUIRES THIS UPDATE EVERY THREE TO FIVE YEARS, AND IT'S BEEN SIX YEARS SINCE WE'VE DONE IT, IS THAT CORRECT? IT'S 2019 IS THE LAST DATE I HAVE FOR THE FULL INVENTORY.
SO 2019 IS THE YEAR THAT THE MEASUREMENTS TAKE PLACE.
SO WE DON'T GET THE INVENTORY COMPLETED UNTIL IT'S BASED ON 2019 DATA.
SO THIS INVENTORY IS BASED ON 2024 DATA AND THEN IT OBVIOUSLY IS, IS COMING SOON.
AND I THINK, AS I MENTIONED TO YOU THE OTHER DAY, IT'S, WE, WE CAN'T DEMAND, UH, LIKE DATA FROM EVERSOURCE.
WE HAVE TO GET THEM TO LIKE COMPILE IT FOR US AND, AND, AND TAKE OUTLIERS OUT AND ALL THESE THINGS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES.
SO IT IS, IT HAS BEEN A PROCESS, AS NIKHIL SAID, WE HAVE IT NOW, WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED AND OUR CONSULTANTS ARE CRUNCHING IT AND, AND PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
SO THE, THE NET ZERO UPDATE PROCESS WILL START.
WE'RE WE'RE GETTING BIDS LIKE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY WILL GET IS THE INVENTORY.
SO, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT, TO COMPARE WITH THE ANALYSIS OF HOW HAVE OUR PROGRAMS ACTUALLY PERFORMED.
SO THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S LIKE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS.
YEAH, NO, I KNOW WE NEED IT IN ORDER TO DO THE REST OF THE WORK, SO I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
I JUST, I THINK WE'RE ALL EAGER FOR IT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW, UM, SINCE IT'S, IT'S BEEN IN PROCESS FOR ALL EAGER FOR AND ALL OF US I THINK ARE COMMITTED TO UNDERSTANDING WHEN WE GET THIS, THEN WE'LL HAVE A, A MUCH BETTER SENSE OF WHERE WE NEED TO GO.
ON THE, WHAT ELSE? ON, UM, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, 'CAUSE IN OUR PREP MEETING WE DID THIS, BUT I WILL HIGHLIGHT PARTICULARLY WHAT COUNCIL ZUBE AND WHAT THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE HAS SAID IT NOW.
ACTUALLY, I REVIEWED THE LETTERS FROM THE LAST COUPLE YEARS THAT I HOPE WE GO BACK AND CONTINUALLY TO BUILD ON THEM AND TO ASSURE THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE THAT THEY ARE PAID ATTENTION TO SO THAT WE WILL BUILD ON THEM.
AND SOME OF WHAT HAD BEEN REQUESTED, UM, DID YOU ALL GET IT? UM, SOME OF IT WAS THIS FOCUS ON UPDATE THE METRICS TO FOCUS ON IMPACT, WHICH I THINK HOPEFULLY WILL HAPPEN IN THE NEXT UPDATE THAT WE HAD SMART GOALS, BUT THEY, SOME OF THE SMART GOALS WERE ABOUT ACTIONS AND NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT IMPACT.
I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY MARRY THOSE TO SAY IT'S, IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE SMART GOALS AS YOU KNOW, I WAS ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS AND WORKED REALLY CLOSELY TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE PART OF THE PLAN.
'CAUSE UM, IT, IT CAN ONLY MOVE US FORWARD IF WE KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT.
SO THE SMART GOALS ARE IMPORTANT, AND YET THE SMART GOALS NOW HAVE TO ALSO INCLUDE IMPACT ON OUR MISSION POLLUTION BECAUSE THAT'S THE ULTIMATE GOALS.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE TO MARRY IT WITH THAT.
SO I, I HOPE THAT'S, WILL THAT BE PART OF THE UPDATED NETZER ACTION PLAN TO ENSURE THAT METRICS? AND THAT'S BASED ON THE LETTER FROM MALLORY BARBER FROM THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE OF LAST YEAR, JUST MAKING SURE IT'S PART OF THE RFP.
WE'RE, WE'RE COMMITTING TO THAT.
UM, AND THEN ON THE MORE CREATIVE ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL, WHICH IS WHAT SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT.
AND WHILE IT'S RELATIVELY SMALL AS IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS CITY WILL SEE AND UNDERSTAND AND THEY CAN KIND OF TOUCH AND FEEL, WHICH IS WHY IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
PLUS FOR MOST PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THEY DON'T HAVE OUR PROFILE AS A CITY.
IT'S NOT 80% OF THE EMISSION POLLUTION IS FROM BUILDINGS WITH 50% OF IT FROM LARGE LABS, YOU KNOW, IT'S MUCH MORE SPREAD OUT.
IT'S A LOT MORE ON TRANSPORTATION AND RESIDENTIAL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT FOOTPRINT.
SO IF WE WANNA BE LEADERS AND SHOW THAT IT CAN BE DONE, I ENCOURAGE US, AND I'M HAPPY TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON THE TRANSACTION POINTS.
DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, WE REQUIRE ANYBODY, YOU KNOW, THE INITIAL IS, WELL, IF YOU SELL A HOUSE, THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TOTALLY DECARBONIZE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IT, IT COULD BE AN ENERGY AUDIT WHEN YOU SELL YOUR HOUSE.
IT COULD BE YOU HAVE A, YOU ANYTIME YOU HAVE A TRANSACTION POINT, MEANING YOU NEED A BUILDING PERMIT FOR A NEW STOVE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ELECTRIC STOVE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S ALSO BETTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE CAN, WE CAN BE REALLY CREATIVE ABOUT A RANGE OF TRANSACTION POINT.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF CREATIVE WAYS WE CAN DO IT, WHICH WOULD ALSO FEED INTO OUR COMMUNICATION GOALS AND OUR, UH, ENGAGEMENT GOALS FOR PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY.
AND IF IT'S SMALL, IT MAY SEEM SMALL, BUT IT'S ALSO SOMETHING
[01:50:01]
PEOPLE CAN DO AND THEN LEADS THEM ON A PATH TO, TO MOVE FORWARD.SO, UM, COUNCILOR SUZI, IF YOU HAVE A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS AND OR JOEL, DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING TO THAT? OKAY, THANK YOU.
I KNOW THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE NET ZERO ACTION PLAN IS TO CURB EMISSIONS, BUT I JUST, I WONDERED IF YOU WOULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE URBAN FORCE MASTER PLAN BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REDUCING EMISSIONS THROUGH ABSORBING CARBON, BUT DO YOU FACTOR THAT IN AT ALL OR IS IT JUST A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, UH, PART OF YOUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS? WHAT I WOULD SAY, UM, I MEAN, THANK GOD FOR URBAN FORCE, BUT IT, IT MAKES A MUCH BIGGER DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF HEAT AND WATER QUALITY THAN IT DOES FOR, UM, CARBON.
YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN AN URBAN AREA.
THERE'S NOT ENOUGH CARBON SEQUESTRATION TO AFFECT OUR CARBON GOALS, BUT IT MAKES AN UNBELIEVABLE DIFFERENCE.
LIKE A 10 DEGREE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A, A NON-RES SHADED TREE AND A SHADY TREE.
I'M SORRY, YOU KNOW, FLAT OUT NORTH MASA WITH NO TREES VERSUS RATTLE STREET WITH TREES.
UM, IT'S GONNA BE ABOUT A 10 DEGREE DIFFERENCE, UM, IN A HEAT WAVE.
AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 75 AND 85 DEGREES OR 85 AND 90 DEGREES IS PRETTY REMARKABLE IN TERMS OF HEAT STRESS.
SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IN THE SENSE THAT TREES CAN ALSO, UM, DECREASE AIR CONDITIONING NEEDS.
BUT WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY DECARBONIZE THE CITY, THAT'S NOT GONNA MOVE US, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR CARBON PLANS, IT'S REALLY GONNA MOVE US FOR OUR HEAT CHALLENGES.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE THERE'S DIFFERENT GOOD THINGS TO DO, BUT WHY, WHY ARE WE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING? UM, SO YEAH, MUCH, BUT LIKE WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON TREES AND WE'RE ALMOST RUNNING OUT OF CITY PROPERTY, PUT TREES.
SO WE'RE NOW SAYING HOW CAN WE PUT IT ON STATE PROPERTY? HOW CAN WE PUT CITY PURCHASE TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY? WHICH WOULD ALSO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, COOL ROOFS, WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT LIKE, WHAT ARE ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN BOTH DO OUR PART IN SLOWING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THEN ALSO PREPARE CAMBRIDGE FOR, FOR DEALING WITH WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DEALING WITH.
AND I WANTED TO HEAR MORE, I, I'M ASSUMING A COOL ROOF IS A GREEN ROOF, BUT I WONDERED IF YOU COULD TALK MORE ABOUT THAT PROGRAM.
AND ALSO YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR FOCUS ON EQUITY WORK, THAT THAT WAS A NEW, UM, CRITERIA OR A MEASURE.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL BE MEASURING? SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO YOUR EQUITY WORK AS WELL.
AND ACTUALLY ON THE COOL ROOFS, CAN YOU ALSO REPORT ON THE GREEN ROOF ORDINANCE AND HOW MANY GREEN ROOFS WE HAVE AS A RESULT OF THAT? AND IF WE HAVE ANY GREEN ROOFS WITH SOLAR ON TOP OF IT, WHICH WAS PART OF THE GOAL OF THAT GREEN ROOF ORDINANCE? UM, SO STARTING WITH THE COOL ROOFS, IT, IT'S ACTUALLY, WE'RE, WE'RE MAINLY FOCUSED ON, UM, ROOFING MATERIALS AND, AND THAT CAN EITHER BE LIKE, UM, ADDING LIKE A COATING TO A ROOF THAT AN EXISTING ROOF, YOU CAN ADD A, UM, A LIGHT COLORED COATING, WHICH WILL REDUCE THE SOLAR IMPACT ON THAT BUILDING AND, AND THEREFORE ALSO REDUCE THE, ESPECIALLY, I MEAN, REDUCE THE COOLING, THE COST TO COOL THAT BUILDING.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN GREEN ROOFS, BUT, UH, FIRST OF ALL LIKE PITCHED ROOFS, YOU CAN'T DO A GREEN ROOF.
AND IT'S ALSO LIKE, IT'S A MUCH BIGGER DEAL.
SO MAINLY WHAT WE'RE INTEGRATING IS INFORMATION ABOUT ROOFING MATERIALS AND COATINGS.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN MOVE ON PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, AND CAN, AND WE'RE TYING THAT INTO THE ADVICE WE'RE GIVING AROUND DECARBONIZE, IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DECARBONIZING, UH, BUILDINGS, RESIDENTIAL IN PARTICULAR.
UM, ON THE, ON THE, UM, GREEN ROOF ORDINANCE, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IS, UM, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE GREEN ROOFS THAT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED, AND AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES LIKE LABORATORY BUILDINGS END UP WITH VERY MINIMAL GREEN ROOFS BECAUSE OF ALL THE MECHANICALS AND, AND, BUT HOW WELL ARE THE GREEN ROOFS THAT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED? HOW ARE THEY ACTUALLY PERFORMING OVER TIME? BECAUSE THAT'S, IF THEY DON'T, IF THEY AREN'T MAINTAINED AT, AT SORT OF HIGH QUALITY, THEN THE, THE EFFECT OF THOSE GREEN ROOFS, IT, IT WILL DIMINISH A LOT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE STARTING TO THINK ABOUT IS THAT, UH, HOW MIGHT WE DO THAT? AND WE POTENTIALLY COULD DO IT WITH USING, UM, UH, OUR LIDAR NOT NOT HAVING TO GO AND DO AN KNOCK AND SAY, CAN I INSPECT YOUR ROOF? BUT WE
[01:55:01]
COULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT FROM, FROM THE AIR.UM, SO I DON'T BELIEVE I AM UNAWARE OF ANY ROOFS THAT HAVE, UH, GREEN ROOF AND SOLAR.
AND OF COURSE, LIKE THE ORDINANCE THAT WE HAVE IN CAMBRIDGE REQUIRES EITHER GREEN ROOF OR BIO SOLAR ROOF.
AND, UM, IT IS, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY A, UM, CASE TO BE MADE FOR THE ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF COMBINING THEM, IT IS ALSO A MUCH MORE COSTLY, AND I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYONE WHO HAS CHOSEN TO DO BIRTH.
AND THEN THANK YOU FOR YOUR TWO GOOD QUESTIONS OR MULTIPLE GOOD QUESTIONS.
UM, IN TERMS OF OUR EQUITY WORK, IT, UM, I THINK, UM, COVID MADE VERY VISIBLE THE STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES AND JUST TO USE AS A PROXY FOR MANY OTHERS, UM, ACROSS WEALTH, ACROSS RACE, AND ACROSS PRIMARY LANGUAGE THAT PEOPLE HAD VERY UNEVEN EXPERIENCES WITH, WITH COVID, BOTH IN TERMS OF CATCHING IT AND SURVIVING IT.
AND THE SAME IS TRUE WITH CLIMATE.
YOU KNOW, CLIMATE AND ENERGY COSTS ARE REALLY AN ACCELERANT FOR WHATEVER ELSE IS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE.
WHETHER IT IS, YOU KNOW, HOUSING INSECURITY OR MENTAL HEALTH OR FRAGILE HEALTH OR WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW, BAD WEATHER AND HIGH ENERGY COSTS ARE GONNA MAKE IT WORSE.
AND SO WHEN WE DO OUR WORK, WHAT CENTERING EQUITY LOOKS LIKE IS TO SAY, AND THIS IS AGAIN, NOT THE TRANSITION POINTS ARE A BAD IDEA, IT'S WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET EVERYBODY THROUGH IN A WAY THAT IS, THAT'S GONNA MOVE THE NEEDLE ON ENERGY.
AND THAT WE DON'T PUSH PEOPLE OUT OF CAMBRIDGE DUE TO ENERGY PRICES.
AND SO IT'S, SO YES, TRANSACTION POINTS ARE STILL ON THE TABLE.
WE HAVE BEEN, AND, AND THIS HAS COME UP ENOUGH TODAY THAT I JUST WANNA NAME THE COMMITMENT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT TO FIGURE THIS OUT, HOW WE, HOW WE MAKE THAT POLICY WORK.
I THINK HOW WE STARTED IN TERMS OF NON BUTO BUILDINGS TO SAY, LET'S START WITH WHERE THE MONEY'S GONNA COME FROM.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE MOST, UM, EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES THAT'S GOING THROUGH THE STATE ENERGY BILL RIGHT NOW IS THE IDEA OF ON BILL FINANCING WHERE THE LOAN STICKS TO THE BUILDING, NOT TO THE BORROWER.
SO, SO YOU SAY, OKAY, EVERSOURCE, I WANT ROOFTOP SOLAR, OR I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT, I WANT A WINDOW MOUNTED HEAT PUMP BECAUSE I DON'T OWN THE PLACE.
AND THEY SAY, OKAY, HERE IT IS.
AND, UH, YOU PAY A BIT MORE IN, UM, ON YOUR ENERGY BILL, SO IT BECOMES A BILL, NOT A BIG DEBT, DOESN'T AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING, DOESN'T AFFECT YOUR ABILITY, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHEN YOU LEAVE AND YOU LEAVE THAT AMENITY, THE NEXT PERSON WHO ENJOYS THAT AMENITY CONTINUES TO PAY FOR IT, WHETHER IT'S INSULATION OR, OR WHATEVER.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT LIKE, WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM TO GET EVERYBODY THROUGH THE TRANSITION THAT UPFRONT COST IN EQUIPMENT TO THEN HAVE LOWER ENERGY BILLS LATER ON.
UH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE FOCUSED ON CONSERVATION.
THE SECOND PIECE IS THAT THE LESS RESILIENT YOU ARE SOCIALLY, AGAIN, PARTICULARLY ACROSS WEALTH, I WOULD ADD HEALTH, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, UM, LANGUAGE AND, AND RACE.
YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOUR, YOUR LIFE IS ALREADY BURDENED BY THOSE DIFFERENCES COMPARED TO FOLKS WHO, UM, HAVE MORE SOCIAL CAPITAL.
THE MORE EXTREME WEATHER IS GONNA BE HARD ON YOU.
CAN YOU AFFORD TO STAY AT A HOTEL FOR, FOR, UM, TWO WEEKS WHILE YOU GET NEW DRYWALL AFTER A FLOOD? OR, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU AFFORD TO DO, TO HAVE GOOD INSURANCE? YOU KNOW, OR CAN YOU AFFORD TO LIVE AWAY FROM HARM'S WAY? UM, AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR CLIMATE RESILIENCE WORK, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT WHO ARE THE FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE THE PRIVATE WEALTH THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN PUBLIC WEALTH.
AND THAT'S WHERE I WOULD SAY URBAN, SHADY URBAN PARKS REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
EVERYBODY BENEFITS FROM SHADY, SHADY URBAN PARKS, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING OR YOU, YOU LIVE ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF A TRIPLE DECKER AND IT'S 115 DEGREES OUTSIDE, YOU ACTUALLY WANT FREE PLACES, WHETHER IT'S OUR LIBRARIES OR OUR SHADY PARKS TO COOL OFF WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE IT AS A PRIVATE SPACE.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE ARE DOING CLIMATE RESILIENCE WORK, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO CLOSE THAT GAP ACROSS DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO NOT BE HARMED BY EXTREME MOTHER.
JOEL, YOU WANTED TO? YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE
[02:00:01]
THAT I AM AWARE OF ONE EXAMPLE OF, UH, UH, UM, GREEN AND BY AND SOLAR ROOF COMBINATION IN CAMBRIDGE, WHICH WAS, UH, COMMITTED TO BEFORE THE GREEN ROOF ORDINANCE WENT INTO EFFECT, UH, IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE WHERE THE FORMER WR GRACE SITE, 26 ACRES NEXT TO THE RUSSELL FIELD AND ELWAY STATION WAS BOUGHT BY A BIO SOLAR DEVELOPER, BIO LAB DEVELOPER, IQHQ IN 2020 AND LY STUDY GROUP, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP AND OTHER LOCAL GROUPS WORKED WITH THEM AND ADVOCATED AND WE HAD A MEMBER OF MOTHERS OUT FRONT ON IT AND WE PROPOSED TO THEM THAT THEY DO BIO SOLAR ROOFS ON THEIR NEW BUILDINGS.THEY DIDN'T FIND MANY EXAMPLES IN THE UNITED STATES, SO THEY ACTUALLY GOT A LOT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE IN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM PARTS OF EUROPE.
AND SO THEY'VE BUILT ONE, THEIR LARGEST NEW BUILDING, UH, HAS A GREEN ROOF WITH SOLAR.
AND THEY ALSO, WE ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT THEY DO A STRUCTURE SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR MECHANICALS AND THEN THE PLANT LEVEL AND THEN THE SOLAR OVER THAT.
AND BOTH THINGS HELP EACH OTHER.
UM, THE PLANTS, UH, COOL THE SOLAR PANELS THAT MAKES THEM MORE EFFICIENT AND LAST LONGER.
AND THE SHADING FROM THE SOLAR PANELS REDUCES THE, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR WATERING.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE A WATERING SYSTEM THAT USE COLLECTS, UH, YOU KNOW, RAIN WATER TO HELP, UH, WITH THEIR IRRIGATION.
SO, UM, THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE IN THE CITY.
AND WHEN THEY, ONCE THEY GET ENOUGH LEASING AND BUILD THEIR OTHER TWO NEW BUILDINGS, THOSE BUILDINGS WILL ALSO HAVE THOSE FEATURES.
TIME FOR A FIELD TRIP FOR EVERYBODY TO GO THERE.
DID YOU HAVE QUICK OTHER QUESTION? ARE YOU OKAY? THE ONLY OTHER THING I REALIZED, UH, JUST TO REMIND US ALL IN THE CLIMATE LETTER, IT ALSO RECOMMENDS THAT THERE'S A, A GOAL AND A METRIC AROUND GREEN JOBS AND ABOUT YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AROUND THOSE GREEN JOBS, WHICH I THINK IS BRINGING TOGETHER SOME THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT WE HAVE BEEN GETTING.
AND I THINK WE'LL GET AN UPDATE ON THE GREEN JOBS REPORT.
UM, BUT THAT WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD ADDITION TO ENSURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
UM, SINCE WE ARE AT TIME, AND I ALREADY HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW SOME OF THIS, I KNOW HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE A LOT MORE QUESTIONS, BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT WORK.
THIS IS CENTRAL TO US MEETING OUR GOALS.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE AND A LOT MORE WORK TO DO, AND CAMBRIDGE STILL NEEDS TO, UM, BE A LEADER IN THIS FIELD AND ALSO WORK WITH THE INSTITUTIONS WHO ARE ALSO WORKING ON IT.
AND IT'S A, A RELATIONSHIP THAT IS BOTH, WE'RE PUSHING THEM AND THEY'RE PUSHING US AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH US, BUT IT'S, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER AND REALLY GRATEFUL THAT WE LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE, WHICH IS ABLE TO, TO DO MUCH OF THIS WORK THANKS TO THE PEOPLE AT THE TABLE, BOTH THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AND THE SUSTAINABILITY STAFF.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN FROM COUNCILOR ZUBE.