This is our decade to electrify everything.
We’re building the political infrastructure to get us there.
ZeroCarbonMA took electric construction mandates beyond California, brought them to Massachusetts, and helped spur their adoption in New York City.
We’re the team that will now hold state-level policymakers in Massachusetts accountable for failing to take seriously our legally binding climate targets.
ZeroCarbonMA is leading the State-wide charge to adopt the Opt-in Specialized Code, as well as efforts to expand the Ten Community Fossil Fuel Free Demonstration Program.
Participate in our groundbreaking Home Methane Study.
Find out if gas is leaking in your home. For more information, please see this link.
“RETROFITS OF REGRET” The Future of Gas in Massachusetts by Groundwork Data
Massachusetts gas heating bills are set to double and triple in coming years, spurring ‘Retrofits of Regret’ from homebuyers stuck with fossil fuel equipment. Read the press release here and the report here.
Fossil fuel free construction for 10 MA communities.
9 communities - with 1 more to come - are now able to mandate fossil fuel free construction in new and major construction. Read more in these WBUR and Boston Globe articles.
Latest legislation.
We’ve submitted legislation to expand the 10 community Fossil Fuel Free Demonstration Program. “It is not equitable or just to allow only ten “first-come first-serve” predominantly wealthy and white communities the option to adopt a healthier, all-electric building code.” Read more here.
Brookline took the first step. People followed.
In 2019, Brookline passed the first electric construction mandate in a cold weather climate. Many Massachusetts towns and cities followed. Our message spread regionally to New York City, Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, MD. Then Somerville, Boston, Salem and Northampton. And in 2023, New York State. ZeroCarbonMA has a track record of designing climate legislation that scales, and we’re just getting started.
We have a climate crisis. But we also have a public health crisis.
Gas isn’t just bad for our climate - it’s also toxic for our health, both globally and in Massachusetts. Poor air quality from burning fossil fuels is associated with higher rates of disease and death throughout the Commonwealth, and even more so in already burdened Environmental Justice communities.
Gas stoves emit Benzene - a powerful carcinogen with no safe limits of exposure - which spreads through your home and lingers for hours after you’re done cooking. Gas stoves also emit many other dangerous pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and methane - even when they are turned off.
Gas appliances are directly attributable to 12.7% of childhood asthma nationwide - and a whopping 15.4% of cases in Massachusetts.
Stop burning stuff.
We don’t allow lead paint, lead pipes, and asbestos in our buildings. And we shouldn’t be allowing the installation of toxic and dangerous gas leaks in our buildings, either.
For more information: See this great (and short and entertaining!) video series from Physicians for Social Responsibility, excellent summaries from PSR, the American Lung Association and US PIRG/Sierra Club, and this investigative article from Mother Jones, “How the Fossil Fuel Industry Convinced Americans to Love Gas Stoves”.
Don’t despair. There is lots you can do - even if you can’t yet switch out your gas stove and other appliances. See “Can’t get rid of your gas stove? Do this!” on the “For individuals” section of our Resources tab, as well as more information on how to transition your home off of toxic and polluting fracked gas.
We have a code red for humanity.
Electrification is cheaper, healthier, and the only option for a livable climate future. We need to stop using fossil fuels - that’s oil, gas, propane, coal and wood burning - now to save ourselves huge costs and even larger risks to our future.
Take a step in your own life toward getting rid of gas, and then go one step further: get others to do the same.
The US and MA have pledged to reduce carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030. To achieve these reductions, we need to stop burning fossil fuels - immediately. Not tomorrow, not in 10 years, but NOW. A Global Carbon Budget of 340 GtCO2 gives us a 65% chance of hitting the critical UN IPCC 1.5 C warming target.
This is an important concept to understand: the longer we keep burning fossil fuels, the more emissions we have to remove, and the more difficult it becomes to meet any scientifically viable targets.
Taking on the fossil fuel industry takes a lot.
Fighting the fossil fuel industry and other dark money climate opponents takes deep pockets. We are a non-profit organization and we rely entirely on your donations to keep us going. We are seeking funding to support our groundbreaking work.
