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Carbon Calculator and Climate Action Pledge Tool:


Climate change heroes:

    Department of Correction

    The Connecticut Department of Correction over the course of the past decade, has committed itself and dedicated staff to reducing energy and resource consumption, as a means of conserving the environment while maintaining fiscal responsibility to the state’s taxpayers.  The Facilities Management & Engineering Unit has successfully achieved this goal through energy efficient design and [...]

     

GSC Adaptation Subcommittee

The Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change created an Adaptation Subcommittee in accordance with the requirements of Public Act 08-98. This Subcommittee is assessing the impacts of climate change on Connecticut’s infrastructure, natural resources and ecological habitats, public health, and agriculture and developing recommendations for changes to programs and laws that would enable state and local government to adapt to such impacts.

  • Draft CT Climate Preparedness Plan
    Following the release of the 2010 Climate Impacts report (see bullet below), working groups of subject matter experts looked at these anticipated changes to Connecticut’s climate and proposed adaptation strategies under guidelines agreed upon by the subcommittee, the workgroups, stakeholders, and the public.  The workgroups recommended several overarching and specific adaptation strategies, grouped into five basic themes:  intensify efforts to ensure preparedness planning, integrate climate change adaptation into existing plans, update existing standards to accommodate change expected during infrastructure design life, plan for flexibility and monitor change, and protect natural areas and landscape features that buffer climatic conditions.
    Following the development of a draft CT Climate Preparedness Plan, Connecticut was hit with Tropical Storm Irene and an October snowstorm that clearly demonstrated a need for additional preparedness planning.  In light of the findings of Governor Malloy’s “Two Storm Panel” and the evaluation currently being undertaken by the legislative Climate Change & Shoreline Preservation Taskforce, it is now an opportune time to put this draft plan out for initial public review and comment.  The public will be able to submit comments on the draft electronically at DEEP.ClimatePreparedness@ct.gov.  In addition to collecting and considering public input, Commissioner Esty has directed staff at DEEP to continue to engage stakeholders and conduct additional evaluations of the possible impacts to Connecticut’s built infrastructure over the next several months.  The draft Climate Preparedness Plan will then be amended to reflect these findings and recommendations prior to being finalized and submitted to the Governor and General Assembly.
  • Final report of the Adaptation Subcommittee – The Impacts of Climate Change on Connecticut Agriculture, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Public Health, 2010
  • Subcommittee Members
  • Meeting Schedule and Events
  • Subcommittee Workgroups: Natural Resources and Ecological Habitats, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Public Health
  • Subcommittee Meeting Notes and Other Documents
  • More Information on Adapting to Climate Change
  • Sign Up for the CT Climate Info Distribution List
  • Helpful Links

Adaptation Subcommittee Meeting Schedule and Events

Adaptation Subcommittee Members

  • Co-chair: Amey Marrella, Deputy Commissioner, CT Department of Environmental Protection and Chair, Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change
  • Co-chair: Lise Hanners, State Director, The Nature Conservancy
  • Commissioner Raeanne V. Curtis, Department of Public Works
  • Commissioner J. Robert Galvin, Department of Public Health (represented by Pamela Kilbey-Fox)
  • Commissioner Joseph Marie, Department of Transportation (represented by Coleen Kissane and Paul Corrente)
  • Dennis McBride, Health Director, City of Milford
  • Commissioner Joan McDonald, Department of Economic and Community Development
  • Senator John McKinney (represented by either Jacqueline Ferro or Rob Pordrier), CT General Assembly
  • Commissioner F. Philip Prelli, Department of Agriculture
  • Steven K. Reviczky, Executive Director, CT Farm Bureau
  • Denise Savageau, Director Conservation Commissioner, Town of Greenwich
  • Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan, CT Insurance Department (represented by George Bradner)
  • Commissioner Peter J. Boynton, Department of Emergency and Homeland Security (represented by Dana Conover and Anthony Dembek)
  • Mark Way, Director Sustainability Development, Americas Risk Management Division Swiss Reinsurance Company
  • Robert Whitlatch, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut
  • Representative Patricia Widlitz, CT General Assembly
  • Norman Willard, US Environmental Protection Agency Region 1
  • Michael Willig, Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Katherine Winslow, Department of Agriculture
  • Gary Yohe, Economics Department, Wesleyan University

Adaptation Subcommittee Meeting Notes and Other Documents

Helpful Links