Climate Change in Maine

Climate Impacts in Maine

Scientists at the University of Maine and elsewhere have clearly documented how climate change is affecting the woods, waters, and wildlife in every corner of the state.

• Rising sea levels and stronger coastal storms threaten homes, working waterfronts, and critical infrastructure
• Warming and increasingly acidic oceans endanger fisheries and marine ecosystems
• Shorter winters and warmer lakes disrupt tourism, outdoor recreation, and wildlife habitat
• More frequent extreme weather, including floods, droughts, and destructive winter storms, is damaging farms, roads, and communities
• Public health risks are increasing, including more “bad air days,” high asthma rates, and the spread of tick‑borne disease

The 2024 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change and its Effects in Maine found that Maine’s climate is getting warmer and wetter. Mainers are vulnerable to increasing illness and death stemming from extreme weather, especially heat, cold, and storm impacts such as flooding. Record-high sea levels are impacting our working waterfronts, and the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 97% of the world’s ocean surface.

The region’s dependence on fossil fuels for heating and electricity is not just fueling global warming in Maine; it’s resulting in higher energy bills and less reliability.

The good news is Maine is well on its way to building a clean energy future that benefits residents across the state. Bipartisan pollution reduction goals and a statewide Climate Action Plan called Maine Won’t Wait provide a clear framework for action.

NRCM’s climate and clean energy experts work together with Mainers across the state to identify solutions that provide the maximum benefit to residents, cities, and towns.

Maine Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan

Maine’s Climate Action Plan is an exciting opportunity to build a stronger, healthier, more prosperous, and resilient future for Maine.

In late 2024, the Maine Climate Council updated our statewide Climate Action Plan, “Maine Won’t Wait,” that was originally created in 2020 after incorporating a broad range of viewpoints and voices from across the state. NRCM experts participated in the energy, transportation, and waste working groups that provided recommendations for this update.

The Climate Action Plan details actions needed to reduce climate pollution and create new jobs as part of the transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit Maine people, businesses, and our environment.

Maine Climate Council

In 2019, Governor Janet Mills and bipartisan majorities of the Maine Legislature passed new laws aimed at improving public health and strengthening the economy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. A 39-member Maine Climate Council was established to create a Climate Action Plan with recommendations for achieving the state’s bold climate targets.

Climate Solutions Advanced by NRCM

Climate solutions must protect low‑income and vulnerable communities from energy price spikes and climate impacts; invest in local resilience, including flood protection, working waterfront adaptation, and rural community support; and create good‑paying jobs and economic opportunity as Maine transitions away from fossil fuels. We’re advancing a healthier, cleaner energy future for Maine in the following ways:

Maine-Maine Renewable Energy

NRCM supports rapidly replacing fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy produced in Maine, including solar and offshore wind. Clean energy reduces climate pollution, stabilizes electricity prices, and keeps billions of dollars spent on imported fuels in Maine’s economy. 

Energy‑Efficient Buildings

Heating buildings with oil and gas is a major source of emissions and a household expense. NRCM promotes heat pumps and weatherization to lower energy bills and pollution, and healthier, more comfortable homes using modern electric technologies.

Clean Transportation

Transportation is Maine’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. NRCM works to expand the availability of cleaner, zero-emission carts and trucks and to increase investment in public transit, as well as safer walking and biking infrastructure, to provide better options for Mainers.

Modernizing the Electric Grid

Modernizing how Maine plans and invests in its electric grid will ensure clean energy can reach more people efficiently and affordably. A 2022 integrated grid planning law is a key step toward a more resilient, climate‑ready grid.