Somerville Wants You To Help Shape Its Climate Change Plan

SOMERVILLE, MA – Last week, Somerville pledged to push forward after President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Accord. The city announced that it is "still in" on adopting the goals of the agreement, with Mayor Joe Curtatone joining a coalition of more than 200 mayors and governors from across the country who have issued similar promises.

In taking action independently, Somerville is poised to launch the next phase of its planning process to create a new climate change plan. The plan, called Somerville Climate Forward, will serve as the city's strategy for addressing climate change by identifying short- and medium-term policies, projects and programs centered around two goals – reducing the city's carbon emissions while working toward a goal of being carbon neutral by 2050 and preparing Somerville to respond to the environmental impacts of climate change.

"With the United States pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, it has never been more important to address climate change locally," Curtatone said in a statement. "The U.S. has historically been the largest contributor to climate change, and if we’re stepping away at the federal level, we must step up at the local level and generate solutions that both reduce our contribution to climate change and prepare for the existing and evolving risks climate change presents."

Somerville Climate Forward will be spearheaded by the city's Office of Sustainability and Environment, along with a consulting team from firms Kleinfelder and AECOM, and developed over the next year. The city is inviting members of the community to provide input and help shape the strategies within the plan at a series of upcoming public meetings.

The first meeting will be held on Monday, June 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the East Somerville Community School. Basic climate information will be shared at the meeting, and participants will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the goals of the plan. Those who wish to get more involved may join working groups that will meet at a later date. Email the City’s Sustainability Coordinator Hannah Payne at HPayne@somervillema.gov for more information.

Developing the Somerville Climate Forward plan is the culminating stage of a multi-year climate change planning process. The Office of Sustainability and Environment has conducted baseline studies that will serve as the technical foundation for the plan. Two completed studies of carbon emissions are available on the SustainaVille website, and a study of climate impacts in Somerville is forthcoming. The basic findings of the carbon emission studies will be reviewed at the June 26 meeting, followed by more in-depth meetings later this summer.

Work has begun throughout the city to reduce carbon emissions and advance climate resiliency efforts, including leveraging new development to help fund infrastructure improvements, updating the zoning code to include new sustainability provisions, and increasing access to residential renewable energy, according to a city press release.

For more information about the Somerville Climate Forward plan, contact Hannah Payne at HPayne@somervillema.gov. For other SustainaVille initiatives, including tips on what can be done at home to reduce carbon emissions, visit www.somervillema.gov/SustainaVille, sign up for SustainaVille updates, or follow the work on Facebook at Green Somerville.

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