A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan 2021 Update and Executive Summary

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration KHALIL MOGASSABI Deputy Director Chief Planner 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager FROM: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Date: January 18, 2022 RE: Net Zero Action Plan Update Please find attached the Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan 2021 Update and Executive Summary. The Net Zero Action Plan (NZAP) was originally adopted in 2015 and provides a roadmap for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from existing and new buildings in Cambridge by 2050. The 2015 NZAP included a commitment that the plan would undergo a comprehensive review of its impact and the current scientific, policy, and technology context every 5 years. The first such review began in 2020 with consultant support and the formation of a 25-member City Manager-appointed Task Force representing stakeholders throughout the community. The attached report is the result of this collaborative update process. This update: • consolidates actions to focus resources on the most effective strategies, • integrates administrative actions into the implementation plan, and • adds new actions to address embodied carbon from buildings and off-site renewable energy supply. The updated plan will now more fully encompass the range of activities the City is carrying out to support greenhouse gas reductions from buildings throughout the community. The NZAP 2021 Update thus represents a comprehensive and community-based approach to support the City’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. The updated Plan serves as the FY21 NZAP Annual Report and will continue to be overseen by the Climate Protection Action Committee. Further progress reports will be made on an annual basis in advance of the next 5-Year Review to be initiated in 2025.