Below is a copy of the article published last week in the Lincoln Squirrel.
Lynne Smith
5 Tabor Hill Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
cell: 781-258-1175
ly...@smith.net
My Turn: Lincoln has a Climate Action Plan – now what?
September 19, 2023
By Lynne Smith
<https://lincolnsquirrel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/myturn-sm-feb2021.jpg>
For the past year, Lincoln staff and residents have worked to develop a
comprehensive Climate Action Plan. A Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP)
Action Grant, provided through the state’s Executive Office of Energy &
Environmental Affairs, funded the project.
Over 100 residents participated in workshops, focus groups, and committee
meetings to make sure the plan included input from as many members of the
community as possible. At most of these sessions, people were eager to meet the
challenge of our changing climate, but many said they are not always sure how
to do so. The plan prioritizes goals and strategies that will help the town and
individuals take action.
A Climate Action Plan is a big deal. In fact, Lincoln’s plan is about 77 pages
filled with informative charts, graphs, goals, and strategies. But the plan is
only a first step in the process toward its stated overarching goal of
“reducing greenhouse gas emission while also advancing community resilience in
equitable and sustainable ways.”
Specifically, the plan organizes strategies into the following six planning
areas: energy, mobility, built environment, working lands and natural
resources, social resilience and education, and water and solid waste
management. For each of these areas, three to four “priority strategies” were
identified through an evaluation and prioritization exercise. For each
strategy, the plan describes the implementation lead, next steps, how it
improves equity, potential co-benefits, implementation partners, funding
sources, and measures of success.
Priority strategies are not necessarily ones that will be completed first or
are the most important, as this exercise only provided a high-level assessment
of how beneficial the strategy could be to the community and environment. Any
strategies can be tackled when possible (Lincoln is already making progress
toward many of them) and this exercise can be performed periodically to update
considerations based on new data, changes in conditions, opportunities, and
constraints.
Now that Lincoln has a Climate Action Plan, the town is better prepared to
apply for more federal and state funding to implement goals and strategies. To
access these funds, professional town staff will need to apply for grants and
manage their implementation. With limited staff ability and town funding, many
of the strategies laid out in the plan will need the community’s help.
At the State of the Town meeting
<http://www.lincolntown.org/1451/2023-State-of-the-Town-MeetingCommunity-> on
September 30, Assistant Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Curtin will
explain more about the plan and the next steps toward implementation. Residents
will be able to provide essential input on how we can move forward to achieve
our climate goals. Green Energy Committee members will be on hand to talk with
residents about how to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their fossil
fuel emissions.
To review the Climate Action Plan before the September 30 State of the Town
meeting, click here
<http://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/79157/Lincoln-Climate-Action-Plan_FINAL-DRAFT_06-30-2023>.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Lynne Smith is a member of the Green Energy Committee
<https://www.lincolntown.org/137/Green-Energy-Committee>’s Climate Action
Lincoln Subcommittee.
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