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Vermont Initiatives
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Vermont Climate Cabinet
The Climate Cabinet, established via executive order by Governor Shumlin, is comprised of senior government officials including Secretaries of Administration, Agriculture Food and Markets, Commerce and Community Development, and Transportation; the Commissioners of the Departments of Economic, Housing and Community Development, of the Department of Buildings and General Services and the Department of Public Service. The Agency of Natural Resources is designated as the lead agency with the ANR Secretary serving as the cabinet chair. The cabinet is charged with providing comprehensive leadership by coordinating climate change efforts, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions & reliance on fossil fuels, providing outreach and education as well as implementing climate change adaptation efforts across all state agencies and departments.
Climate Change Team
This seven-person team is the focal point for ANR Climate Change activities. Projects include the Community Climate Change Grant program (2009), and the Northeast Low Carbon Fuel Standard. To learn more, visit the about page.
Forests, Parks and Recreation
Vermont’s climate and forests are ever changing. Explore the relationship between forests and climate change, how to manage forest carbon to help reduce greenhouse gases, and trends in Vermont forests likely due to climate change. Visit Vermont Forest, Parks and Recreation website.
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This plan identifies actions in three focus areas:
- Reducing GHGs from the transportation sector
- Protecting Vermont’s Transportation infrastructure from the effect of climate change
- Reducing VTrans’ operational impacts on climate change
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The Department of Public Service is the lead agency in development of the state’s new Comprehensive Energy Plan, due for completion in mid-October.
See www.vtenergyplan.vermont.gov for additional information on this effort, including a schedule and how to submit comments
Vermont Utility Facts (2008)
Established in 2005, the goal of the Fund is to increase the development and deployment of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable electric power resources – primarily with respect to renewable energy resources, and the use of combined heat and power technologies - in Vermont.
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is the lead on Vermont 25 x ’25 Initiative (Link), a plan to produce 25% of Vermont’s energy needs from renewable energy, primarily from farms and forests, by the year 2025. |
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is an interagency group chaired by the Commissioners of the Departments of Buildings & General Services, Environmental Conservation, and Public Service. The CNWG was established by executive order and is tasked with documenting GHG emissions from Vermont State Government operations, and coordinating efforts to meet its GHG emissions reduction goals. It prepares biennial reports to document these efforts, identify future planned steps and their anticipated impacts, and highlight any challenges for meeting those goals, as well as opportunities for expediting greenhouse gas emission reductions. You can find the most recent of these reports here.Other reports are available on the Library page of this website. |
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The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative effort by ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to limit greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is the first mandatory, market-based CO2 emissions reduction program in the United States.
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The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are signatory states to the RGGI agreement. These ten states have capped CO2 emissions from the power sector, and will require a 10 percent reduction in these emissions by 2018.
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A partnership between state government, academia and the private sector, the Vermont Climate Collaborative was conceived as a hub for research, information, and activity related to climate change in Vermont. The Collaborative creates and facilitates connections between people and projects to:
- build on our research strengths statewide,
- get like-minded people working together,
- develop funding sources for worthwhile projects, and
- prioritize research needs.
Ultimately, the goals of the Collaborative are straightforward: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to build the green economy.
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VECAN is a network of statewide Vermont organizations helping communities across the Green Mountain State to reduce energy costs and climate impacts through conservation, increased energy efficiency and conversion to renewable energy sources. VECAN is the portal for information on the 92 statewide community energy committees (Member List Link)
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GMC has plans to become climate neutral by 2011 |
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Middlebury has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2016. |
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Research at the CDL focuses on the social and biophysical structures that determine the stocks and fluxes of greenhouse gases between terrestrial systems and the atmosphere
UVMs hub for innovative and interdisciplinary research, education and outreach on sustainable transportation system solutions. Visit the Transportation research center's Website
Established in 1994, the CSA cultivates understanding, innovative practices and polices to advance sustainable food and farming in VT and beyond
Housed within the Geography Department at UVM, the VSCO conducts research and serves to provide the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) with Vermont's climactic data.
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The CSP is a Vermont resource center connecting students, businesses and communities across the region. The Center is all about practical, hands-on solutions to problems in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building design and construction, permitting, land use and agriculture |
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