ResilientMass Summit:
Climate Mitigation, Adaptation & Societal Transformation
UMass Boston
Campus Center Ballroom
Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is pioneering the Global Movement for Climate Change Resilience. Building on the Planetary Call to Action for Climate Change Resilience co-authored by UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and renowned climate scientist Ram Ramanathan, among others, with Governor Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer as its first signatories, we collectively commit our leadership to address the climate crisis urgently and proactively.
We invite you to a historic statewide convening focused on climate resilience in the spirit of leadership and commitment to protect our common home and all our citizens. Hosted by UMass Boston, Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the ResilientMass Summit brings together a diverse coalition of state officials, mayors, community leaders, researchers, Indigenous leaders, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs to engage in crucial discussions about the significant impacts of climate change on our communities and our efforts to build resilience.
Building on the ResilientMass Plan, the ResilientMass Summit will focus on Mitigation, Adaptation, and Societal Transformation (MAST). Participants will collaborate on developing comprehensive climate resilience strategies.
Additional Summit Themes
- Nature-Based Solutions
- Equity & Justice
- Unlocking Finance
- Insurance
MAST Strategy
The MAST strategy, articulated in the Planetary Call to Action for Climate Change Resilience, emphasizes Mitigation, Adaptation, and Societal Transformation. The Massachusetts summit is a launching pad for ten global regional summits scheduled for 2025, sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Dr. Ram Ramanathan and Dr. Suárez-Orozco will lead the regional summits alongside dedicated task forces from the two Academies, as well as local scientists and leaders from each of the ten regions across Africa, Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, Europe, North America, and South America.
ResilientMass Preparing for:
- Increased temperatures and heat waves
- More frequent and intense precipitation events
- Inland and coastal flooding
- Sea level rise (for coastal areas)
Specific Impacts
Coastal Flooding and Sea Level Rise
- Massachusetts is planning for a sea level rise of up to 2.5 feet by 2050 compared to 2008 if global emissions are not significantly reduced. Both tidal and storm-related flooding are projected to increase.
- By 2070, coastal flooding is projected to cause over $52 million in damage annually to state-owned coastal properties, a 550% increase from 2023.
- Approximately 43% of the Commonwealth’s population resides in coastal communities, with populations expected to increase in most coastal communities.
- Coastal salt marshes provide ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, storm buffering capacity, and carbon capture. The Commonwealth is projected to lose 250 acres of salt marsh by 2030 and over 24,000 acres by 2100.
- Currently, annual average damage to coastal buildings in Massachusetts is ~$185 million. Damage is projected to nearly double by 2030 due to changes in sea level and storm surge.
High Heat
- 23–29 high heat days per year expected by 2050 and an annual average temperature increase of 5.9 to 7.9°F.
- Extreme temperatures are projected to increase annual transportation infrastructure maintenance costs by over $140 million by the end of the century.
- The annual cost of rail repair in the Commonwealth due to the increased temperature is projected to increase by $6 million by 2050 and $35 million by 2100.
- Nineteen premature deaths each year may be attributed to extreme temperatures. If no action is taken, an additional 400 premature deaths annually could occur by the end of the century.
- Stress on forests, including stress from rising temperatures, may diminish the ecosystem services they provide, like carbon sequestration and water filtration.
Flooding from Precipitation
- By 2070, Massachusetts is expected to receive 12–42% more winter precipitation.
- Annual economic flood damage is estimated to increase by $9.3 million by 2030 across the Commonwealth.
- Over 400,000 Massachusetts residents live within the FEMA flood zone, with Bristol, Worcester, and Plymouth counties having the largest populations in the flood zone.
- Intense precipitation and resulting flooding threaten freshwater ecosystems by increasing sediment delivery, nutrient loadings, contaminants, and riverbed scouring, which may worsen with climate change.
From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience
May 2024 Summit, Rome, Italy
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, formed a new initiative on Climate Resilience and brought researchers, policy makers and faith leaders together in May 2024 to understand the scientific and societal challenges of climate change and recommend solutions for resilient people and resilient ecosystems.
Press CoverageShaping a Resilient Future
Hosted by UMass Boston, Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the ResilientMass Summit brings together a diverse coalition of state officials, mayors, community leaders, researchers, Indigenous leaders, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs to engage in crucial discussions about the significant impacts of climate change on our communities and our efforts to build resilience.
Join Us
Join us in shaping a resilient future and catalyzing a global movement of climate change resilience, engaging stakeholders from local mayors and council members to state and national leaders.
Media Contact:
Laura Giordano
lgiordano@melwoodglobal.com
Cell: (774) 214-6410
