Massachusetts’ Governor Must Act to Secure Clean, Affordable Buildings

This statement from RMI argues that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's veto of bill S.2995, which included a net-zero stretch code, contradicts state research and economic realities. The document asserts that electrification of new buildings is essential to meet the state's 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target and is already economically viable for single-family homes and affordable housing developers.

• Governor Charlie Baker vetoed bill S.2995, a climate action bill containing a net-zero stretch code, citing concerns over the economic impact on market rate and affordable building development. RMI argues this veto contradicts research from the Governor's own Executive Office of Energy Affairs (EEA) and the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, which indicates that a mandatory net-zero building code is the most effective way to stop the addition of gas infrastructure and that delaying such a code to 2030 would triple emissions from new buildings.
• Electrification of new construction is presented as an economically sound choice. RMI research indicates that building a new all-electric single-family home in Boston is currently cheaper than building with gas and results in $1,600 in savings for residents over 15 years. Additionally, affordable housing developers are adopting all-electric construction because it is a better long-term investment and can be financed at lower interest rates.
• The document highlights existing net-zero affordable housing projects in Massachusetts as evidence that such codes do not hinder production. Examples include the 62-unit building at 370 Harvard Street in Brookline and the Finch Cambridge project, a 98-unit development completed in summer 2020 that is expected to be over 40 percent more energy efficient than the strictest building codes.
• Maintaining existing gas infrastructure in Massachusetts is described as a significant financial burden. The state possesses some of the oldest and most leak-prone pipelines in the US, with the Applied Economics Clinic estimating that repairing this infrastructure would cost between $15.5 billion and $16.6 billion, taking over 90 years to pay off.

APA

RMI (2021). Massachusetts’ Governor Must Act to Secure Clean, Affordable Buildings. https://rmi.org/resources/massachusetts-governor-must-act-to-secure-clean-affordable-buildings/

Chicago

RMI. Massachusetts’ Governor Must Act to Secure Clean, Affordable Buildings. 2021. https://rmi.org/resources/massachusetts-governor-must-act-to-secure-clean-affordable-buildings/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=RMI |title=Massachusetts’ Governor Must Act to Secure Clean, Affordable Buildings |date=20 January 2021 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/massachusetts-governor-must-act-to-secure-clean-affordable-buildings/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rmi2021massachusetts, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Massachusetts’ Governor Must Act to Secure Clean, Affordable Buildings}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/massachusetts-governor-must-act-to-secure-clean-affordable-buildings/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }