Lynnfield Awarded $15,000 To Combat Climate Change

A release from House Minority Leader Brad Jones and Senator Brendan Crighton:

BOSTON, Ma – Lynnfield has been awarded $15,000 in state grant funding to help local officials assess the town’s vulnerability to climate change and develop a resiliency plan to address this problem.

A total of $725,000 in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program funding was announced by the Baker-Polito Administration on April 22 to coincide with the international celebration of Earth Day. Lynnfield was one of 27 communities to receive funding.

“The unique challenges posed by climate change are best addressed through collaborative state-municipal partnerships like the MVP program,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading). “With this state funding, Lynnfield officials will be able to identify areas of vulnerability and then use this information to develop an appropriate response plan to protect critical infrastructure.”

“Climate change creates a wide range of issues for municipalities and we must make sure that they have the tools available to prepare for the future,” said Senator Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn). “I commend the Town of Lynnfield for their continued efforts and I know that these MVP funds will be put to good use.”

The MVP program was created in 2017, following Governor Baker’s signing of Executive Order 569,Establishing an Integrated Climate Change Strategy for the Commonwealth, the previous year. The Order outlined steps for reducing the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions and protecting residents, municipalities and businesses from the impacts of climate change.

A total of 184 cities and towns have received funding through the MVP program, which provides technical support, access to climate change data, planning tools, and community-based workshops to help municipalities identify their vulnerabilities and strengths and develop an action plan for implementing resiliency strategies.

The Baker-Polito Administration has committed $19 million for community resiliency efforts in Massachusetts, including $10 million in MVP Action Grants funding that was made available on March 15. Projects eligible for this funding include infrastructure retrofitting and adaptation, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, culvert upgrades, drought mitigation, wetland restoration and floodplain protection.