Today, Governor Healey launched the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, seeded with $50 million in state funds. Karen Kelleher, LISC Boston’s Executive Director, voiced support for this first-of-its-kind initiative saying, “Through creation of the Mass Climate Bank, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is positioning the Commonwealth to lead on the critical task of decarbonizing old and new buildings, by investing first in low-income people and environmental justice communities."
The excerpt below was originally published:
Governor Healey Announces Creation of Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, Nation’s First Green Bank Dedicated to Affordable Housing
The Healey-Driscoll Administration
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BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey announced the launch of the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, the nation’s first green bank dedicated to affordable housing. This landmark initiative, seeded with $50 million in state funds from the Department of Environmental Protection, is designed to maximize investment in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector.
One of the Climate Bank’s primary goals is to attract private sector capital and federal funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act to finance building retrofits aligned with the state’s long-term climate objectives and new construction of decarbonized buildings. The bank will focus on the affordable housing market, where residents bear a disproportionate burden in energy costs and climate impacts, to promote an equitable energy transition and to meet the needs of environmental justice populations. Over time, the bank will diversify investments to include other decarbonization measures that benefit communities.
The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank is located within MassHousing, the state’s affordable housing finance and investment bank. Massachusetts is the first in the nation to locate its Climate Bank within its Housing Finance Agency and to focus its strategy on affordable housing. The Climate Bank will work in partnership with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and MassDevelopment. This collaboration will ensure that each entity’s capabilities are leveraged to support the identification, development, financing and execution of clean energy projects, beginning with the affordable housing sector.
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Karen Kelleher, Executive Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Boston
“Today’s investment in decarbonizing affordable housing in Massachusetts is climate forward and equity forward. Through creation of the Mass Climate Bank, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is positioning the Commonwealth to lead on the critical task of decarbonizing old and new buildings, by investing first in low-income people and environmental justice communities."