BBA Executive Director Kelly Devine was among many local business owners, organizations and politicians yesterday afternoon for the launch of the Vermont Climate Pledge Coalition.

This new coalition, consisting of organizations from around Vermont will work to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, including a reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by 26-28% by 2025. The Coalition will be coordinated by the City of Burlington, will compliment steps already being taken at the state level. 

As its initial actions steps, the coalition will looks to grow it’s membership, collect voluntary pledges from across the State, and work to establish analytics to track progress. The group will also work to encourage short, medium, and long-term efforts that may include: encouraging transportation alternatives; producing and building a supply chain of locally-sourced goods to minimize the use of transportation emissions necessary to get the goods to market; composting in the backyard; weatherizing homes; and implementing energy efficiency measures. 

Part of the agreement will see the City convene a Climate Summit this fall to create Vermont’s Climate Pledge for Paris. This will be Vermont’s attempt to adhere to the Paris climate agreement, which the federal government recently backed out of.

The City of Burlington has a long history of working toward a sustainable future, having already become the first city in the country to source 100% of its energy from renewable sources. Currently, Burlington is trying to become a net zero energy city. This process includes studying the feasibility of district energy in Burlington, 13 new electric vehicle charging stations, and new programs to help residents make their homes more efficient.

The BBA is excited to support this partnership between state and local government, non-profits and the local business community. These steps will not only fight climate change, but increase economic vitality. Currently the BBA is working on it’s own summit to educate our membership on some of the innovative active transportation work underway in our area.