Alliance members are working to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing emissions, accelerating action, centering equity, and tracking progress. 

Explore Maryland's policies and actions across the Alliance's 10 key policy areas. Numbers presented below only reflect the number of policies in this database and thus may not reflect all climate policies pursued.

maryland

GHG Targets + Governance

Just Transition + Equity

Industry

Pricing Carbon + Valuing Damages

Electricity

Transportation

Resilience

Natural + Working Lands

Climate Finance

Buildings

total

HB 1220 Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Green Fund

This bill establishes a Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Green Fund, effective July 1, 2008, to provide funding to various State agencies and the Chesapeake Bay Trust for specified bay restoration and growth management activities. The fund, administered by the Comptroller, would be financed by an impervious surface fee assessed on “new impervious surface” development. Local governments would retain a portion of fee collections for specified purposes. The bill also establishes a Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Green Fund Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Maryland Outdoor Recreation Land Loan Act of 1969

This legislation authorized a $60 million state loan to fund the acquisition of land for public recreation and open-space conservation, created Program Open Space, and established a 0.5% state real estate transfer tax to repay principal and interest on the original loan. Subsequent statutory updates created a formula to allocate real estate transfer tax revenue to Program Open Space, other conservation programs, and the general fund. 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Launches “Roots for Resilience” Initiative To Strengthen Climate Adaptation on the Eastern Shore

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has launched a new initiative called Roots for Resilience: Strong Roots for a Changing Landscape to help Maryland’s Eastern Shore adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.

Through this initiative, which is supported by $42.5 million in federal grant funding, DNR will invest in nature-based climate solutions including tree planting, sustainable forest management, coastal wetland restoration, and living shoreline projects.

Roots for Resilience is an initiative ​designed to help Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore adapt to the challenges of climate change by enhancing nature’s ability to store carbon and buffer climate impacts. Through tree planting, coastal habitat restoration, and community engagement, the initiative strengthens our natural defenses while reducing carbon emissions. Roots for Resilience unites the existing relationships, initiatives, and passions on the lower Shore to nourish roots — ecologically and socially — to preserve this rapidly changing landscape.

Roots for Resilience is a new initiative ​designed to help Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore adapt to the challenges of climate change by enhancing nature’s ability to store carbon and buffer climate impacts. Through tree planting, coastal habitat restoration, and community engagement, the initiative strengthens our natural defenses while reducing carbon emissions. Roots for Resilience unites the existing relationships, initiatives, and passions on the lower Shore to nourish roots — ecologically and socially — to preserve this rapidly changing landscape.

The key goals of Roots for Resilience include protecting and restoring high-carbon forest and coastal habitats to maximize climate and community benefits; advancing sustainable forest management to increase carbon capture and preserve biodiversity; and building community resilience through outreach, education, and local partnerships.

As part of the work for this initiative, DNR will oversee construction of living shorelines to protect marshes, fund wetland restoration activities, reconnect tidal systems, plant trees, and expand the state nursery in Preston to market locally sourced trees. The initiative will also implement these types of restoration strategies on existing conservation easements to protect critical habitats and aid communities.

Overall the initiative’s aims include:

- Restoring tidal connectivity of 400 acres of marshes.
- Restoring 200 acres of tidal wetlands.
- Installing living shorelines to protect 400 acres of tidal marshes.
- Restoring 500 acres of forest habitat and improving forestry management on 1,000 acres.

Roots for Resilience

natural_and_working_lands

Senate Bill 388 "Smart Growth" and Neighborhood Conservation - Rural Legacy Program

This legislation created a Rural Legacy Program to enhance natural resources, agricultural, forestry, and environmental protection by providing funds to purchase specified interests in real property; established a Rural Legacy Board to administer the Program and an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Board; specified criteria the Board will apply in administering the Program; and provided for the funding of the Program. 

Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program provides funding to preserve large, contiguous tracts of land and to enhance natural resources, agricultural, forestry and environmental protection while supporting a sustainable land base for natural resource based industries. The program creates public-private partnerships and allows those who know the landscape best – land trusts and local governments – to determine the best way to protect the landscapes that are critical to our economy, environment and quality of life.

The program encourages local governments and land trusts to work together and determine how best to protect their vital working landscapes.​

Potential acquisitions are reviewed based on two categories, Land and People.

 - Land examines the ecological value of the property focusing on wildlife habitat connectivity; presence of rare or endangered species; support of aquatic life; forests important for water quality protection; location of the property with respect to Targeted Ecological Areas; restoration opportunity, and climate change adaptation.

 - People examines how the property would provide exceptionally high-value, resource-based recreational opportunities such as a new land unit for public access, public beach or water access in an access-limited area or a critical trail connection; would provide an opportunity to expand or connect existing recreation opportunities, especially in areas that experience capacity pressures; is an in-holding or adjacent parcel that will address important, long term management concerns for an existing land management unit; buffer existing lands or contributes to large landscape protection; conserve the natural features of the property; enhance coastal community resilience to climate change impacts; and has educational, cultural or historical value.