One year ago in April, the Trump administration abruptly announced its intent to shut down the bipartisan Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiative that has allocated billions of dollars in federal grants to pre-disaster mitigation efforts in communities across the country since 2020.
Climate change
Posted inEnvironment
Five Codcasts from 2025
CommonWealth Beacon reporters moderated panels and guided conversations on some of the thorniest problems facing the state. Here are five Codcasts from 2025 worth revisiting — or checking in on for the first time — as the new year kicks off.
Posted inHousing
Our top five housing stories of 2025
The Bay State’s housing crunch seemed to reach into all corners in 2025, tying up courts, lawmakers navigating climate and transportation concerns, groups dependent on federal fair housing funding, and services promising to make it easier for more people to afford to live in pricey Massachusetts.
Posted inExplainer
What is the Massachusetts FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort?
The increased FAIR Plan policies and rising home insurance prices in the private market across New England both reflect and tell the climate story, since insurers are the arbiters of risk.
Posted inEnvironment
Tepper stands by Mass. climate goals, ramps up outreach on Canadian wind power
Tepper shared in an interview with CommonWealth Beacon that she took a previously-unreported trip up to Nova Scotia last month to meet with officials to discuss how Massachusetts can potentially tap into Canadian offshore wind, much in the way the state will soon have access to 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec.
Posted inEnvironment
Planning for wildfire risk a puzzle for homeowners, Mass. officials
Massachusetts summers are expected to experience more variable and severe dry spells due to rising temperatures and less frequent rainfall. Meanwhile, the state is juggling a goal of 220,000 new housing units to beat the crunch while trying to plan for a world with more extreme weather, be it floods or fire.
Posted inEnvironment
Full of crap: Climate change could cause more sewage pollution for rivers, lakes, and beaches
“The Charles is a beloved resource. People should be able to use it without worrying about getting sick. As our climate changes and it gets hotter, people should be able to swim there.”
Posted inEnvironment
Average summer temps in Massachusetts have risen by 2.75 degrees Fahrenheit in past 55 years, according to new data
The 2.75 degrees Fahrenheit might sound like a small change in a state where temperatures can vary from below zero to around 100 degrees, but it is a very significant rise over the time period given historical temperature trends, said Jen Brady, a meteorologist at Climate Central.
Posted inEnvironment
Flooding in Massachusetts drains money, energy, and resources
Studies show that extreme precipitation and flooding are increasing in the Northeast and that coastlines are becoming more vulnerable due to changing frequency and intensity of storms and severe rain.
Posted inOpinion
Accelerating climate change demands ‘agile systems’ thinking — and action
In the face of accelerating climate change, the scale and scope of resilience work is growing far beyond what policy makers in the late 20th century thought possible. The general risk of not acting at the needed scale far surpasses the downside risk of any single action negatively impacting an ecosystem.
Posted inOpinion
Why we were in handcuffs at Hanscom Airfield
Private developers are working with the Massachusetts Port Authority on a proposal to expand Hanscom’s private jet capacity with 17 new hangars, the accompanying fuel tanks, and other infrastructure. A coalition of neighbors and environmentalists had been working since at least 2023 to oppose the plan with petitions, meetings with representatives, and yard signs.
Posted inEnvironment
When the river rises
By 2050, severe floods that were expected to happen once every 100 years will be three times more likely to occur in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts. But the uneven distribution of resources across municipalities leaves some towns less equipped to plan for and respond to disasters.
Posted inEnvironment
Massport hires first climate chief
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns and operates high emissions-producing Logan International Airport, has hired its first chief climate and resilience officer.
Posted inEnvironment
Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s big question on climate
“It’s a transition, but we all have to be more thoughtful,” she said recently.
Posted inEnvironment
FEMA quietly removes access to New England coastal erosion hazard tool
FEMA has not explained why some climate products have been hidden from view, but the New England regional director told Nantucket that it is “to ensure the alignment” of FEMA actions with Trump directives.
Posted inEnvironment
‘We have time to reverse this. We have time to step up’
The Trump administration has begun to pull back on key environmental protections designed to transition the country off of fossil fuels.
Posted inEnergy
EPA move to undermine greenhouse gas regulation will hurt US competitiveness, says former Mass. energy official
“Pollution knows no state boundary, nor does heat, drought or intense storms.” – Former Mass. energy undersecretary Barbara Kates-Garnick on the Trump administration’s attempt to weaken a rule that underpins the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted inEnvironment
Spring in Massachusetts has warmed by approximately two and a half degrees Fahrenheit over the past 55 years
Spring in Massachusetts counties has warmed by approximately two and a half degrees Fahrenheit over the past 55 years leading to earlier fire seasons and increased risks of drought, according to a new Climate Matters analysis.
Posted inEnvironment
Trump administration seeks review of California emissions waivers adopted by Massachusetts
Massachusetts’s climate goals could take a hit from the Trump administration’s decision to go after vehicle emissions waivers granted to California by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Posted inOpinion
Should we limit expansion of natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts?
The debate boils down to prioritizing tackling climate change or economic growth and energy independence.
Posted inEnvironment
New Seaport tower showcases low-carbon cement from Somerville firm
The event celebrated the first commercial application of a new type of low-carbon cement, made entirely in Massachusetts, and its use to build Boston’s largest net zero office building.
Posted inEnvironment
Will Mass. follow the lead of New York on climate change?
In 2019, New York set mandates calling for 70 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2040. New York lawmakers also approved the creation of a congestion pricing plan for New York City that would assess a toll of as much as $15 on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
Posted inOpinion
In the face of climate change, mitigation is no longer enough
The world is at a crossroads. Now is the time to meet our greatest global threat with renewed courage and new ways of thinking. We must work together and take local action on the ground.
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to talk about what decarbonization will cost
We know how much carbon we emit, with reasonable accuracy. We know how much carbon we need to stop emitting. We know much about the carbon-free resources we need to procure. Now we just need to know the cost to the Commonwealth.