Boston City Council Explores Climate Bank for Coastal Flood Protection

BOSTON — March 31, 2025 — Boston City Council committee opens hearing on creating a municipal climate bank for coastal resilience. City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, chair of the Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks, led a fact-finding session March 31 on Docket 0169, co-sponsored with Councilor John FitzGerald, exploring a potential "Boston Climate Resilience Finance Authority" to manage loans and grants for flood-protection infrastructure along the city's 47-mile coastline. The session surveyed models including the New York Green Bank, which has deployed $1 billion and leveraged billions in private capital, and the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, which launched with $50 million in initial capital. Chief Climate Officer Brian Swett and Office of Climate Resilience Director Chris Osgood attended alongside the committee. Councilor Erin J. Murphy noted that coastal flooding "impacts all of our communities, even all the way into Hyde Park and West Roxbury." No votes were taken and no formal proposal was advanced.