Securing the Green Budget
Decarbonizing our economy, protecting our natural resources, and supporting healthy communities requires state agencies that are well-resourced and well-staffed. While the need for their services has grown, our environmental agencies have suffered from decades of significant and sustained underfunding. On average, Massachusetts spends only $32.65 per 1,000 people on parks and recreation, the lowest per person spending in the country and almost half the national average. Additional funding will support public parks and open spaces that are invaluable to our communities as well as the tourism, agriculture, outdoor recreation, fishing, and clean energy industries that are creating jobs and economic growth.
We at ELM advocate for:
- Providing sufficient and sustained funding for environmental agencies to meet the scope and scale of our climate, conservation, and adaptation challenges.
- Increasing resources for the state agencies overseeing climate and clean energy action to ensure that Department of Public Utilities (DPU), Department of Energy Resources (DOER), and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) are adequately staffed to facilitate our net-zero transformation.
FY24 Green Budget Priority Line Items
- Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)
- EEA Admin: $18,172,987
- Climate Adaptation and Preparedness: $10,003,414
- Environmental Justice: $8,804,284
- Department of Conservation and Recreation for State Parks and Rec: $107,632,351
- Department of Public Utilities: $19,781,167
- Department of Environmental Protection: $51,969,763
- Natural Heritage and Endangered Species: $1,500,000
- Division of Ecological Restoration: $4,300,000
With these additional resources, Massachusetts will be able to move forward in sustaining our communities, protecting public health, and meeting our environmental challenges.
