As Needham works to meet the climate goals set by the state, following a roadmap established by the Needham Climate Action Planning Committee, state grant funding and federal incentives have been critical. But cuts by the Trump administration, as well as provisions in the recently signed budget bill, are making the climate goals harder to reach.
The town roadmap laid out steps to comply with the state mandates of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, including a goal of electrifying 20% of residential and 25% of commercial buildings by 2030 and electrifying 80% of passenger vehicles by 2040. However, the federal budget bill rescinds tax credits for purchases such as electric vehicles and energy efficient home advancements, effectively raising the cost of those investments.
Needham Sustainability Manager Gabrielle Queenan said that state-funded grants awarded to the Needham CAPC have not been affected and Needham has made progress toward sustainability. A Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Green Communities grant of $162,848 was put toward three major sustainability projects last January that will reduce overall town emissions. The Eliot Elementary School converted to LED lighting, the Town Hall water heater was upgraded from a natural gas water heater to an electric heat pump hot water heater and the Department of Public Works garage hot water heater was upgraded from an inefficient electric resistance hot water heater to an electric heat pump hot water heater.
But a federal grant the town sought for climate-related disasters was eliminated. “We did apply to one grant program that was tied to federal funding, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency,” Queenan said. “The town had applied to that program with a relatively small request. It was only about $26,000 and it was a request to fund an update to our town-wide hazard mitigation plan.”
The program was called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), a subsection of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and it was cut on April 4, 2025. According to a statement on the FEMA website, “The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.”
According to Queenan, the BRIC program grant would have been helpful for Needham to maintain existing infrastructures that help protect the town from climate-based emergencies and build new infrastructure to help adapt to the multitude of new impacts from climate change.
“Hazard mitigation planning is really used to identify community risks, vulnerabilities and then associated hazards, and then figure out what the long-term strategies are to reduce the impacts of those hazards,” Queenan said. The current hazard mitigation plan for the town will expire in 2026 and the town will seek a new source of funding to update that plan. Queenan explained that losing the ability to apply for the BRIC program will affect the town’s ability to respond to climate-based disasters that are becoming more common as climate change worsens and can lead to loss of life and private property.
Grants are not the only source of funding the town of Needham has relied on for adhering to the sustainability goals laid out in the roadmap. Tax credits given by the federal government for buying electric vehicles for municipal purposes and implementing solar energy projects on town buildings were two major infrastructure changes that would support the town’s ability to hit net zero emissions by 2050. With the recently signed budget bill, these tax credits are no longer applicable and that has left the town with fewer outside resources to help with the adoption of these two crucial sustainable practices.
Queenan points out that only about 3% of Needham’s emissions come from town buildings and vehicles with the bulk of town-wide emissions coming from residential and commercial sectors. According to the Climate Action Planning Committee’s roadmap, Needham is relying on residents to collaborate with the town in sustainable practices in order to meet the sustainability goals.
Before the budget bill went into effect, individuals were eligible for tax credits for sustainable advancements such as upgrading to energy efficient HVAC systems or switching to electric vehicles. Queenan points out that “[the bill] in itself can set back the progress that has been identified in the roadmap as a goal for Needham to achieve net-zero emissions townwide by 2050. Without these tax credits, the monetary incentive to adopt sustainable practices disappears. When we limit those options, it just makes it that much harder for residents, for anyone, to be able to move in that direction for electrification,” Queenan said.
Needham residents have moved in a sustainable direction. According to the Massachusetts Vehicle Census, nearly 18% of all vehicles registered to Needham residents are electric or hybrid vehicles, well above the state average of about 7.5%. Continuing this trend is a crucial part of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and even though tax credits for EVs are being rescinded, they don’t expire until Sept. 30, 2025. Any EV purchased and titled before that date will be eligible for up to $7,500 of tax credits for new cars and up to $4,000 for used cars.
Queenan said there are options that can help residents reduce the financial strain of switching to more sustainable practices. “The town wants to be a resource for residents when it comes to understanding the impacts of climate change and ways to both mitigate and adapt,” she said. Queenan highlighted the town’s sustainability web page as a resource that can provide residents with information about alternate, non-federally funded incentives available to town residents.
Brooke Lober, a student at Brandeis University, is a summer intern with the Observer.
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