DNREC looking for comment on Climate Action Plan

According to the state’s environmental agency, rising temperatures, sea level rise, and weather volatility are three climate-related changes Delawareans should prepare for. To facilitate the preparation, state officials have begun developing a climate action plan.

According to Susan Love, Climate and Sustainability Section administrator for Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, by 2050, heat waves are projected to become longer and more frequent, temperatures are expected to increase as much as 4.5 degrees, and sea levels could rise as much as 23 inches.

“Delaware is getting hotter and wetter,” said Love. “Climate change will affect you.”

DNREC officials kicked off the effort to develop a plan during a workshop March 3 at the CHEER Community Center in Georgetown. Roughly 100 people attended. DNREC also hosted workshops in Wilmington and Dover, March 4 and 5.

Love said the point of the climate action plan is to address causes, the associated consequences and how to mitigate them. The plan will be developed over the next year, with the expectation of completing it by December, she said.

The state has been working to mitigate its impact of climate changes on the environment for years. Love said since 2005, Delaware has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent. The goal, she said, is to reach a 25 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2025.

There’s still some work to do, said Love.

Using a number of solutions as examples – renewable energy, clean transportation, conservation, support for local communities and partnerships with other states – Love said implementing a climate action plan will protect the state’s agricultural and tourism industries, infrastructure and natural places. The recent workshops are first steps in the public participation process, she said.

In an email March 5, Love said the information gathered from the meeting will be used to guide the development of Delaware's Climate Action Plan in three categories – energy, transportation and resiliency.

Love said the new plan will build on two previous DNREC-created plans – the 2014 climate framework for Delaware and the 2013 sea level rise adaptation plan – and, for the first time, provide a comprehensive strategy for how the state can meet its greenhouse gas emission goal.

Love said DNREC received $134,600 in the 2020 state budget for developing the plan. She said the 2014 plan did not have an allocation in the state budget; for that plan, DNREC used existing department resources.

For more information on Delaware’s Climate Action Plan and to submit an opinion on how it should implement the plan, go to www.declimateplan.org or email declimateplan@delaware.gov.

Community Climate Conversation

The Climate Action Plan meeting was the first of two on climate change held on consecutive nights. The second, called a Community Climate Conversation, was a separate event hosted by Delaware Interfaith Power and Light, Energize Delaware, DelMarVa Green and Epworth United Methodist Church’s Green Team.

Similar to the state meeting, Janet Taylor-Smith, Epworth Green Team leader, said the purpose of the event was to get people to start talking about climate change. Social networks are a good place to start, she said, in an email March 5, listing off friends, school, businesses and churches as networking possibilities.

Taylor-Smith said she was pleased with the turnout, which came in at 80. She said she thought the community and youth were well represented.

“I particularly enjoyed listening to the sharing of the table highlights at the end,” said Taylor-Smith. “It became obvious that the effects of climate change weigh heavily on everyone's mind. As a retired teacher, hearing from our youth that climate change is not talked about in schools saddens me greatly.”

Taylor-Smith encourages people to be climate voters – voting for candidates who are committed to addressing climate change.

Lisa Locke, Delaware Interfaith Power and Light director of programs, joined Taylor-Smith. In an email March 5, she said the conversations launched in July. To date, said Locke, there have been 16 events, with over 550 people from all three counties.  

For now, Locke said, three more climate conversations are scheduled – Friday, March 20, at Delaware State University; Monday, April 6, at Delaware Technical Community College’s Newark campus; and Monday, April 13, at University of Delaware. She said there’s a long list of potential hosts and that libraries offer great potential because they draw a broader audience.

“We are very excited and encouraged by the interest in these gatherings and the potential to raise visibility, share resources, foster new initiatives, inspire hope,” said Locke.

For more information on Delaware Interfaith Power and Light’s Climate Conversations, go to www.delawareipl.org or email Locke at llocke@delawareipl.org.