Boston City Council unanimously declares climate crisis a public health emergency

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6062 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston City Council opens 2020 term with climate declaration and wide-ranging reform agenda. The council, presided over by new Council President Kim Janey, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring the climate crisis a public health emergency at the January 15 session, joining what Councilor Matt O'Malley described as 1,307 other local governments worldwide already on record. The council also referred more than a dozen hearing orders and two pilot-reform measures to the Committee of the Whole, including a hearing order from Councilor Michael Flaherty noting that Boston's tax-exempt institutions are paying pilot contributions based on fiscal year 2009 assessed values while citywide property values have reached a historic $164 billion.

New at-large Councilor Julia Mejia, described as the first Afro-Latina immigrant elected to the Boston City Council at-large, introduced her first hearing order on civil rights and sanctuary safe spaces, citing a 50 percent spike in local immigration arrests following the 2017 change in federal administration.

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Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6062 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.