Traffic was very minimal midday on Tuesday, April 7 in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Massachusetts is already committed to eliminating its net carbon emissions by 2050 — but that's a long way off. So as 2020 draws to a close, state officials are proposing an interim goal: to shrink the state's carbon footprint down to at least 45% of its 1990 level in the next decade.
The state's old habits of transportation, home construction and energy generation would have to change — some profoundly — to meet even that target by 2030.
But officials say it can be done with help from businesses and neighboring states, and without putting too much strain on an economy still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.