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| 麻州州長Maura Healey(前右二)、副州長Kim Driscoll (前右一)邀波士頓市長吳弭 (Michelle Wu) (前左四) 一同宣佈撥款5000萬元成立社區氣候銀行。 (周菊子攝) |
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| 麻州州長奚莉 (Maura Healey)強調團隊合作。 (周菊子攝) |
奚莉州長指出，這將是全美第一個從氣候角度出發，主要關注土地發展方面減碳機制的銀行。麻州成立這樣一個銀行，旨在爭取包括縮減通貨膨脹法(Inflation
Reduction Act)中的全國清潔投資基金，以及來自能源部貸款部門等的聯邦經費，和麻州清潔能源中心 (MassCEC)、麻州發展
(MassDevelopment)等機構合作，從可負擔住宅先開始，找出可辦理清潔能源項目的現有或新建樓宇，提供低費用資金，執行減碳做法，包括為可負擔住宅大樓辦理重新貸款，以資助更新暖氣幫浦，樓宇外牆及窗戶等工程。。
麻州政府指出，在麻州的溫室氣體排放中，約70%來自樓宇，而在麻州的2050年發展道路圖上，大約80%的麻州樓宇都是在在2050年以前就建成的，要如何達到2030年時，麻州住宅樓宇溫室氣體排放量減少49%，到2050年時，減少95%這目標，麻州必須更積極的有所作為。
麻州州長奚莉在競選時，就已承諾要在因應氣候變遷上採取行動。上任後她不僅設立了住宅及宜居社區內閣辦公室，指派曾任屋斯特市經理的Ed
Augustus Jr.為首任廳長，也設立麻州有史以來的第一個氣候長
(Chief of Climate)，指派Melissa Hoffer出任該職。
不過波士頓環球報 (Boston orange) 指出，紐約及康州都有類似的綠色銀行。康州是在2011年就成立了一個和麻州類似的新銀行，以有限的州政府經費來吸引外界投資。該銀行也用於經援住宅的太陽能及暖氣項目，為電動車設立可以平衡碳排放的項目等。有獲悉奚莉政府這一銀行者認為，該效法康州做法，讓麻州的氣候銀行在放貸給土地發展商之外，也可用於其他的去碳相關活動。
Governor
Healey Announces Creation of Massachusetts Community Climate
Bank, Nation’s First Green Bank Dedicated to Affordable Housing
$50
million in seed funding intended to leverage federal funding and private
sector opportunities to accele
BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura
Healey announced the launch of the Massachusetts
Community Climate Bank, the nation’s first green bank
dedicated to affordable housing. This landmark initiative, seeded with $50 million
in state funds from the Department of Environmental Protection, is
designed to maximize investment in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
from the building sector.
One of the Climate
Bank’s primary goals is to attract private sector capital and
federal funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act to
finance building retrofits aligned with the state’s long-term climate
objectives and new construction of decarbonized buildings. The
bank will focus on the affordable housing market, where residents bear a
disproportionate burden in energy costs and climate impacts,
to promote an equitable energy transition and to meet the needs of
environmental justice populations. Over time, the bank will diversify
investments to include other decarbonization measures that benefit communities.
The Massachusetts Community Climate
Bank is located within MassHousing, the state’s affordable
housing finance and investment bank. Massachusetts is the first in the
nation to locate its Climate Bank within its Housing Finance Agency and to
focus its strategy on affordable housing. The Climate Bank will work
in partnership with the Massachusetts Clean E
“The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank will be our financial engine for moving forward on our climate goals, relieving the pressure of high housing costs, and creating good jobs and healthier communities,” said Governor Maura Healey. “This first-of-its kind initiative is going to make our state more competitive, affordable, and equitable – and it’s going to show that in Massachusetts, we can lead the world by leading with our values and leaving no community behind. We’re grateful to our partners at MassHousing, MassCEC, MassDevelopment, our Congressional delegation, the Legislature, the City of Boston and the Boston Green Ribbon Commission for their collaboration to make the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank a reality.”
“The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank has enormous potential,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “It can support deep energy retrofits and investments in energy efficiency technologies, eliminating emissions and cutting residents’ energy costs for years to come. It can help nonprofit developers access capital that makes net-zero development possible, serving hundreds of families. It can help the state rehab and retrofit older affordable housing that’s in need of repair by getting access to new federal climate funds. Each step of the way, it’ll power our mission to make Massachusetts the world’s climate leader by bringing all the benefits of a green and resilient economy to all the people of our state.”
“Decarbonizing the Commonwealth’s housing stock is a critical component of our work to build cleaner, healthier communities, while meeting our ambitious climate goals,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank will allow us to pursue this important work at scale, accelerating our progress toward a net zero future, and centering equity for low- and moderate-income households and Environmental Justice communities.”
Low- to moderate-income residents tend to pay a disproportionate share of their income on energy costs, have less control of their residences and have fewer resources to invest in measures that will reduce their emissions and control their energy bills. The Climate Bank expects to provide low-cost capital and innovative deal structures to integrate clean energy and efficient technologies into affordable housing development and preservation and mortgage products for home improvements.
The Climate Bank will accelerate
the pace and deepen the impact of building decarbonization projects by lending
directly to building owners and by attracting and de-risking lending and
investment by private lenders through innovative finance
products. It expects to integrate clean energy into MassHousing’s lending
for affordable housing, create programs for similar affordable housing
projects, and engage capital markets more broadly to invest in
affordable housing decarbonization.
The Climate Bank aims
to take advantage of the periodic cycle of affordable housing refinance to finance heat pumps,
building envelopes (i.e., efficiency upgrades to windows and
walls), heat pump water heaters, high-efficiency appliances, an
The Climate Bank
will also position Massachuset
In Massachusetts, the building
sector is responsible for over a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions.
In Massachusetts cities, where many environmental justice populations live,
buildings can be responsible for as much as 70 percent of total greenhouse
gas emissions. Unlike cars, buildings last for decades, making the need to
retrofit existing buildings especially important to achieve statewide
decarbonization goals. According to the 2050 Massachusetts Roadmap
report, over 80 percent of the buildings that will exist in 2050 are
already built.
Massachusetts’ Clean Energy and
Climate Plan calls for a 49% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from
residential heating by 2030, and a 95% reduction by 2050. The Massachusetts
Community Climate Bank is an integral part of the strategy to achieve these
emissions reductions.
“I thank Governor Healey for her
leadership to create the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank to both encourage
private spending and harness federal funding to further our investment into the
creation of green affordable housing – and to make our affordable housing
greener,” said Boston
Mayor Michelle Wu.
“This work is critical and will complement our efforts in Boston to retrofit
our housing stock and create opportunities for small property owners to build
and renovate greener, healthier buildings for residents to thrive.”
On the first full day of her administration, Governor Maura Healey signed an Executive Order creating an Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience within the Governor’s Office and establishing the position of Climate Chief. Governor Healey appointed Melissa Hoffer to this position, which is the first in the nation at the cabinet level. The office is charged with harnessing all of the resources and authority available to the Governor and the executive department to advance the Commonwealth’s climate innovation, mitigation, adaptation and resilience policies. The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank is a signature accomplishment of the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience, which worked collaboratively with all partners to advance this project.
