Select Board Urges Action On Climate Change

ORLEANS – As efforts to map out a climate action plan for the town continue, some officials say they want to see a greater emphasis on “action” rather than planning.

The town’s energy and climate action committee will seek $100,000 at next month’s special town meeting to hire a consultant to help the town create a plan to address the impacts of climate change locally. 

John Londa, who chairs the committee, called climate change “probably the biggest change any of us will see in our lifetime.” And the effects are already happening, he said, citing recent flooding in Vermont and reports of landslides in Alaska. 

“Climate change is here,” he said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

The committee in recent months has been studying similar climate action plans that have been enacted in other towns including Plymouth, Melrose, Action, Gloucester, Watertown and on Martha’s Vineyard. Assistant Town Manager Mark Reil in his previous job helped Plymouth craft and ultimately pass its plan.

Reil told the select board Aug. 28 that having a plan to adequately respond to climate change would have ramifications for the entire community. At Putnam Farm, for example, the ability to address issues such as coastal flooding could better protect crops and better help the town address problems such as food insecurity, he said.

“When we think about climate change, it really is more than just energy,” he said.

Select board member Andrea Reed, meanwhile, said she saw a climate plan as a way of preparing for environmental changes that are already impacting low-lying roads and other infrastructure. 

“It’s absolutely necessary that we have a tool that is responsive, adaptable and guides our investment in our community,” she said.

But select board member Michael Herman said Aug. 28 that the matter has been adequately studied with little results, including through existing plans crafted at the state, regional and local levels. 

“This is another plan I’m afraid that we’re going to do, that’s going to sit on a shelf and not [be acted on],” he said. “We voted on a plan in 2020, and nothing was done.”

Herman said the town in his opinion is “behind” when it comes to acting on climate change. Waiting a year for the results of the proposed action plan will only put the town further behind as energy costs and other expenses continue to rise, he said.

“I’m hoping as a community we can move forward knowing that we’re in a climate change crisis right now and add to that,” he said.

But others on the board saw value in having a plan that can help the town gauge the effectiveness of its climate change efforts. Despite what he called the “sticker shock” that came with the $100,000 ask, Kevin Galligan said that while the town has funded past studies on the issue, a plan can help the town work more pointedly toward solutions.

“It’s a strategic framework that allows us to then measure and see what you’re not doing,” he said.

Reil added that having a plan in place could better the town’s chances for receiving grants and other funding related to climate change projects.

The board did not act on whether or not to include the proposed article on the warrant for the Oct. 28 special town meeting, but select board chair Mark Mathison said the discussion needed to continue as to how the town “can act and plan simultaneously” to address the impacts of climate change.

The select board was to revisit the article among others slated for potential inclusion on the warrant at its Sept. 10 meeting, which occurred after The Chronicle went to press. The packet for Tuesday’s meeting said the language in the climate action article was broadened to allow the $100,000 to fund projects in the areas of “climate, environment and sustainability.”

“The funds would be able to be utilized for the climate action plan development, matching funds for grants, and implementation of actions related to the aforementioned categories,” the packet reads.