To the Editor:

The staff and working groups of the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy applaud the excellent work of the Maine Climate Council to date. We have read your reports and commend your draft plans to achieve Maine’s forward thinking climate goals.

CEBE is a non-profit (501c3) organization in Norway, Maine dedicated to developing equitable, community-based ecological solutions to the climate crisis. We are a Core member of Maine Climate Action NOW! and other statewide and national coalitions working for a just transition to a post-fossil fuel economy.

As the Maine Climate Council’s plans evolve into policy, we anticipate that CEBE and other community level organizations will be working with local governments on the critical process of rapidly implementing those policies. To date we have installed 16 Level 2 EV chargers, 4 solar projects, numerous gardens including a public food forest, maintained a bike sharing program, helped weatherize scores of homes in the Western Foothills area and are developing a cargo-bike cooperative for local hauling, all designed to reduce our collective carbon footprint. All totalled it is a tiny step towards the sweeping changes that are called for.

Currently, we are working on developing a climate action plan for the town of Norway, incorporating the Maine Climate Council Working Group’s strategies. Some of these will be easy to implement, while others will be challenging. It is clear that small towns like Norway will need guidance to help Maine reach its goals.. Here are some specific ways that the State might assist:

1. Help towns and regional organizations create appropriate climate action plans and implementation strategies.
2. Keep localities informed of Federal, State, and municipal financing opportunities, incentives and strategies to meet the State’s critical 2030 and 2050 emissions benchmarks
3. Provide educational and technical assistance to help citizens support and invest in these strategies while rebuilding our struggling economies.
4. Provide educational and technical assistance to municipalities and school districts.

We look forward to ongoing cooperation between the State and localities as we accelerate this momentous transition.

To this end we have been encouraging community members to take part in this historic process by visiting climatecouncil.maine.gov and filling out the surveys related to each of the Council’s working group recommendations.

We advocate for a rapid transition to a renewable energy economy focused on local generation and smart grid technology, best achieved through a consumer-owned utility; Affordable efficient housing for all Mainers through a massive retrofitting of existing building stock and new projects that leverage local resources; Massive investment in public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and the electrification of cars and trucks; Deep investment into local, sustainable food production and distribution that meets the needs of all citizens; and robust training programs to build the skilled, well paid, workforce that will make this overdue transition to an ecology-based economy a reality that meet the needs of all the people of Maine.

Scott Vlaun

Executive Director

On behalf of the Staff and Stewards of the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy

Norway