Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Climate Action Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Regional climate action plan targets greenhouse gas and co‑pollutant reductions, seeks municipal input
Summary
An EPA-funded comprehensive climate action plan for the New Haven County metropolitan area will refine emissions-benefit calculations, assess co‑pollutant and workforce impacts, and seek municipal participation in a March workshop, project consultants said.
Noah Slobin, a consultant with SLR, told the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments that a comprehensive climate action plan for the New Haven County Metropolitan Statistical Area will refine earlier priority recommendations and quantify greenhouse gas and co‑pollutant benefits.
The plan, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, builds on a priority climate action plan completed in April 2024 and is intended to emphasize the needs of low‑income and disadvantaged communities, Slobin said. The comprehensive phase will also include a workforce analysis to identify skills gaps and opportunities for economic and workforce development linked to implementation.
SLR and partner researchers at UMass Amherst have completed emissions inventories and are projecting potential reductions from the actions identified. The current workstream includes calculating co‑pollutant benefits, assessing workforce needs, continuing public engagement, and revising action language and prioritization based on feedback and technical analysis.
Slobin said municipalities can support the process by helping publicize engagement events, providing direct input on actions, and identifying local initiatives that parallel plan recommendations so staff can align and coordinate. He said the project team will hold a municipal workshop in March to review candidate actions, discuss feasibility, and clarify what municipal implementation would require.
The team plans to finish the comprehensive climate action plan by the end of 2025 and to report implementation progress, updated co‑pollutant benefits and workforce analysis to the EPA by the end of 2027. Slobin and other project staff took questions after the presentation.
Why it matters: the plan covers multiple municipalities that fall across four metropolitan statistical areas and is intended to guide coordinated regional action that municipalities can adapt or use to seek funding for local implementation.
