Maryland

60% by 2031 | Net-zero by 2045

Relative to 2006 levels

Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan

The Maryland Climate Change Subcabinet is required to submit an annual report detailing the progress of implementing Maryland's Climate Pollution Reduction Plan and state agency Climate Implementation Plans, starting December 1, 2024.

The 2006-2020 Greenhouse Gas Inventory was published in September 2022.

Climate Change Subcabinet

Chief Sustainability Officer

Maryland Commission on Climate Change

"Overburdened communities" are the 25% highest scoring census tracts in 3 or more of 21 environmental health indicators, related to pollution exposure, proximity to environmental hazards, and health outcomes.

"Underserved communities" are census tracts where at least 25% of residents are low-income, 50% are nonwhite, or 15% have limited English proficiency

MD EJSCREEN

MD Climate and Health Equity Mapper

A newly created Interagency Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Council is made up of state agencies to faciltate interagency collaboration on programs and activities related to environmental justice. Each member agency must designate an Environmental Justice Officer to lead agency planning and implementation of the agency's Environmental Justice Strategic Plan.

MDE – EJ Coordinator

The Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 also requires MDE to provide staff for the Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities. EO 01.01.2025.17 requires MDE to staff the Interagency Council.

Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities

Just Transition Employment and Retraining Working Group

Maryland Clean Energy Center, which administers the Climate Catalytic Capital Fund

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS) Board of Trustees established a Climate Advisory Panel to advise the board on climate risk when considering investments for the pension and retirement system.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) covers the electricity sector.

30.5% renewable energy by 2020 | 50% by 2030

Executive Order 01.01.2024.19 directs the Maryland Energy Administration to "establish a framework for a clean energy standard to achieve 100% clean electricity in Maryland by 2035."

Reaching 100 Percent Net Carbon-Free Electricity in Maryland

Siting authority is primarily under the jurisdiction of the Maryland Public Service Commission (MPSC) for projects over 2MW. The MPSC must grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) before any construction can commence. Local government recommendations must be considered, but are not binding.

Maryland received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Maryland has an active community choice aggregation program.

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

750 megawatts (MW) of storage capacity by 2027, 1,500 MW by 2030, and 3,000 MW by 2033

HB 1035 requires the procurement of up 1.75 GW of battery storage

The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2021 IECC with amendments.

The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2021 IECC with amendments and ASHRAE 90.1-2019.

The Energy and Water Efficiency Standards apply to 11 products.

The Building Energy Performance Standard requires buildings larger than 35,000 square feet to reduce direct emissions from buildings by 20% by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

The Maryland Department of the Environment is required to propose a clean heat standard regulation.

Electric utilities are required to achieve a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction equivalent of annual electricity savings of 2% in 2024, 2.24% in 2025 and 2026, and 2.5% for each year after that. Utilities must achieve annual energy savings for low-income residential units for the 2024-2026 EmPOWER cycle, starting at 0.53% in 2024 and increasing to 1.0% in 2026.

Gas utilities are not subject to an EERS.

Maryland has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs.

The Maryland Department of the Environment is required to propose a zero-emission heating equipment standard that will phase-in zero-emissions standards for heating equipment.

Gas, water, and electric utilities are allowed to own thermal energy networks, and can recover costs associated with TENs, if approved by the PUC.

Gas utilities serving >75,000 customers must develop 1-2 proposals for network geothermal pilot projects by July 1, 2025. The proposals must ensure that at least 80 percent of the pilot projects’ customers are from low- or moderate-income households. Gas utilities serving <75,000 customers are able propose one pilot.

Maryland Clean Cars Program

Model Year (MY) 2027: 43% of new passenger vehicle sales are ZEVs | MY 2030: 68% of new sales are ZEVs | MY 2035: 100% of new sales are ZEVs, with up to 20% being hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The state will delay penalty enforcement against manufacturers that fail to meet ZEV sale requirements for model years 2027 and 2028, unless certain conditions are met. A "Maryland ACC II and ACT Working Group" must offer recommendations for how the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) program can be implemented in Maryland.

By 2035: 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales are zero-emissions | 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales are zero-emissions | 40% of Class 7-8 tractor sales are zero-emissions.

The state will delay penalty enforcement against manufacturers that fail to meet ZEV sale requirements for model years 2027 and 2028, unless certain conditions are met.

A "Maryland ACC II and ACT Working Group" must offer recommendations for how the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) program can be implemented in Maryland.

The Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Grant Program provides grants to cover up to 75% of the incremental cost of new medium- and heavy-duty battery and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

100% of the state's passenger vehicle fleet are ZEVs by 2031, and 100% of the state's light-duty vehicle fleet are ZEVs by 2036

25% of annual bus procurements by the Maryland Transit Administration are zero-emission by FY25

Requires that new construction of detached single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses with a separate garage or driveway have one parking space that is EV-ready or has EV supply equipment (EVSE) installed.

The Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Rebate Program offers rebates for the purchase and installation of Level 2 and direct current (DC) fast chargers, up to $700 for residential chargers and up to $5,000 for commercial chargers.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) aims to reduce on-road transportation sector GHG emissions by 40% by 2031, and set a 4% reduction target from 2022 levels by the 2025 performance year

Maryland is ranked 9th out of 50 in the 2024 Bicycle Friendly State rankings by the League of American Bicyclists.

By January 1, 2026, the Department of General Services (DGS), in consultation with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), must establish a maximum acceptable global warming potential (GWP) for each category of cement or concrete mixture used in the construction of an eligible project. Beginning July 1, 2026, state agencies must specify the cement or concrete mixture that will be used in construction projects, and requires contractors to submit environmental product declarations before installing any cement or concrete mixture.

The state prohibits certain HFCs in specific stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning end-uses.

Operators must reduce vented and fugitive emissions of methane from both new and existing natural gas transmission and storage facilities.

Hydraulic fracking for the exploration and production of natural gas is banned.

Reporting and control of methane emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are required.

Food waste ban – The state requires businesses and institutions that generate at least 1 ton of food waste per week and are within 30 miles of a composting facility to dispose of food residuals via composting or anaerobic digestion.

The Maryland Healthy Soils Program provides financial assistance to manage conservation practices in new and innovative ways that improve soil health, yield, and profitability and capture carbon.

Maryland's Cover Crop Program offers grants to help pay for seed, labor, and equipment costs to plant cover crops.