Somerville Invites Community to Help Update City’s Climate Action Plan

The City of Somerville is updating its climate action plan, Climate Forward, and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is calling on community members to get involved. Launched in 2018, Climate Forward established 13 top strategies to reduce Somerville’s contribution to climate change and to create a more climate-resilient community. It provides the framework for collective action on climate change across different sectors, including buildings, mobility, natural environment, community, and leadership. 

Climate Forward was designed to be updated every five years to meet changing needs and seize new strategies to reach our goals. Since 2018, our community has made tremendous progress on the original action items in the plan, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing equity-centered resiliency. Now it’s time to renew Climate Forward, drawing on more recent climate data and community feedback. Input from local stakeholders is essential to shaping our collective response to climate change.  

“Climate change isn’t some far away event that we are buckling up for. It’s here now, it’s a crisis, and we must act to slow the impacts,” said Mayor Ballantyne. “Getting involved with Somerville Climate Forward is a good way to make a difference. Rethinking city policies and systems can have a large impact on carbon emissions as well as on resources for residents – especially the most vulnerable who will otherwise be hardest hit by climate impacts. We are fortunate to live in a community where people are ready to come together, brainstorm good ideas, and do our part. I hope to see a big response to this. Our planet – and our kids that we will leave it to – certainly need us.” 

There are several ways to make your voice heard: 

• Take the Climate Forward Community Survey: Answer questions about resiliency, energy, transportation, behavior changes, engagement, and more. The survey is available online in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Nepali, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese at somervillema.gov/climateforward2023.   
• Connect with City staff: Find the Climate Forward table at an event this summer and fall, like SomerStreets, Fluff Festival, and the Fall 2023 City Hall Community Meetings.  
• Leave a comment, idea, or question on the Climate Forward 2023 website. 
• Join a focus group: The City will launch a series of focus groups later this year. Keep an eye out for more information and participation instructions.  

The City will continue gathering feedback through December 2023, and the final update will be published April 2024. For more information, go to somervillema.gov/climateforward2023 or contact Emily Sullivan at esullivan@somervillema.gov or 781-823-9248.      

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.