Massachusetts Launches 'ResilientCoasts' Initiative to Combat Climate Change

The new strategy groups coastal communities into resilience districts to develop tailored climate change policies and strategies.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has unveiled a new strategy, the 'ResilientCoasts' initiative, to help the state’s 78 coastal communities better cope with the challenges of climate change.
The initiative groups together distinct geographic regions that share similar landscape characteristics and face similar climate hazards into 'coastal resilience districts'.
The program aims to help communities within each district develop tailored policies and strategies to address climate change impacts and to pursue federal funds.
Other goals of the strategy include creating nature-based solutions for coastal erosion, streamlining the permitting process, and considering the latest projected rise in sea level in future resiliency projects.
Massachusetts could see sea level rise by up to 2.5 feet by 2050 compared to 2008 if global emissions aren't dramatically reduced, with both tidal and storm-related flooding projected to increase.