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The future of climate, technology and the economic development of Massachusetts took center stage at a meeting that UMass Amherst recently hosted that brought together educators, entrepreneurs and state and local officials for the economic development agency Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) Pioneer Valley Roadshow.

The event, which was the second stop on MassCEC’s statewide tour, is part of an effort to demonstrate that climatetech – technology to address the ongoing climate crisis – is a state-wide economic opportunity. UMass Amherst is anchoring climatetech development in the Pioneer Valley by leading the way in cutting-edge research and education in everything from wind and solar power to decarbonizing the internet and harvesting electricity from thin air. The valley is one of six “climatetech clusters” that MassCEC has identified that form a larger, interconnected “climatetech corridor” in the commonwealth, all of which are crucial to moving the state to its net-zero carbon emission goals.

“We jumped at the chance to host this event,” said Loren Walker, director of research development at UMass Amherst. “Supporting the commonwealth’s climatech initiative is a natural extension of our leadership in climate adaptation sciences, energy extension and renewable energy technology development that will benefit our students while driving innovation and creating economic opportunity in the Pioneer Valley.”

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Thanks to the passage of the Mass Leads Act, an economic development bill that in large part focuses on climatetech, hundreds of millions of dollars will be invested in the commonwealth over the next decade.

Rod Motamedi, assistant director of UMass Amherst’s Donahue Institute, crunched the numbers and projects that the Mass Leads Act dollars should multiply – through direct spending, additional economic activity and additional leveraged funds – into a $16.4 billion windfall and create nearly 7,000 jobs, approximately 10% of which will be in education. MassCEC expects an even greater impact if Massachusetts takes full advantage of the climatetech opportunity, as the agency’s 10-year economic development plan released in February aims to train 25,000 individuals and create 35,000 jobs across the state.

At the event, held in April at the Institute for Applied Life Sciences, MassCEC’s CEO Emily Reichert told the nearly 100 attendees that “what MassCEC is really trying to do is communicate that climatetech is a state-wide economic opportunity. There are many opportunities for all parts of the state to participate in the climate revolution.”

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“UMass Amherst is an innovation anchor and provides opportunities to test and demonstrate technology and regional assets,” said Ross Palley, director of business development for MassCEC.

“In concert with our state partners, and with both sustainability and global competitiveness in mind, UMass is helping to position Massachusetts in one of the largest industries in the coming decade – climate technology,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “We will educate the climate tech workforce, cultivate technology development and commercial activity, help climate tech companies scale in our core research facilities, and our campuses will anchor the climate tech corridors outlined in the state’s strategy.”

More information about MassCEC’s climatetech work, including its Economic Development Strategy and Implementation Plan, can be found at MassCEC.com.