Massachusetts has the highest number of climate tech startups per capita in the world—not just in the US. It’s a fact that Governor Maura Healey is proud of, and an achievement she touts when discussing her plan to make the state “the undisputed global home of climate technology.”
“I’ve never viewed my competition with other states,” she said in a speech last month at ClimaTech. “I view Massachusetts’ competition with other countries.”
Making Massachusetts No. 1 for climate tech would add that industry to the state’s growing list of gold-medal rankings: It’s a global hub for life sciences and biotech, and is the most educated state in the nation, per US News & World Report. Healey wants to use the frameworks that attained those wins to boost the “companies that will lead the world” in climate tech by “investing state dollars” in startups and the green tech workforce.
MassCEC: Healey works with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a quasi-governmental economic development agency, which invests public funding in climate tech startups, manages the state’s green infrastructure, and fosters the next generation of green tech workers through internships and community college and high school programming.
“Not all states have something like a Clean Energy Center that allows us to offer capital investment dollars and tax incentives to support economic development and growth in climate technology,” Healey told Tech Brew. “[Climate tech is] a huge opportunity for economic growth for our state.”
Legislation: As governor, Healey has also passed legislation to accelerate Massachusetts’ clean energy transition through permitting and siting reforms. In 2023, she created the Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting (CEISP) through an executive order, which aims to “swiftly remove barriers” to building renewable energy infrastructure. The commission recommended permitting and siting reforms for Massachusetts’ 2024 Climate Act, which Healey signed into law last year. Among other reforms, the law created deadlines for state and municipal permitting processes so clean energy projects aren’t trapped in a seemingly endless permitting limbo.
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And just last month, Healey sought further legislation to bring more renewable energy to Massachusetts and cut electricity costs.
“We’ve got to bring energy costs down, and one way to do it is by bringing more forms of energy online, and that includes renewables,” Healey told us. “These are all things that are going to make America more energy independent and in control of our destiny, and not be subject to some of the wild swings that we see in global oil and gas markets right now.”
National presence: Healey is a member of the US Climate Alliance, a group of 24 state governors committed to decreasing their states’ greenhouse gas emissions and passing high-impact state climate policy. She told us that during President Trump’s second term, green states will continue to work together for the sake of the entire country—which includes Massachusetts, 16 other states, and DC suing the Trump administration for its moratorium on offshore wind.
Unsurprisingly, Healey isn’t taking cues from the federal government for Massachusetts’ climate tech action—she’s looking globally.
“Other countries are moving forward,” Healey told us. “That should send a signal to American leadership that this is where we need to go.”
So even as federal climate tech investments decline, she takes any opportunity she can get to encourage those in the industry to keep going.
“I want you to have faith. I want you to continue. I don’t want you to take your foot off the pedal,” Healey said in her speech at ClimaTech. “We are all in, and we’re going to continue to be all in—and there are a whole lot of people who stand to benefit from it.”