 Good morning. My name is Jonathan Labry and I'm the chief community officer here at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute And it's just a real thrill to welcome everybody here for this really exciting Partnership and an activity that's that's happening right here in our backyard Just really quickly the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for those of you who don't know much about us We work we do research on the Gulf of Maine We work with fishing communities around the Gulf of Maine and we teach our kids about About science and what's going on in the Gulf of Maine and this this space that we're in right now newly remodeled we're teaching kids all around the state about climate change and the impact of climate change on lobster and And black sea bass and our researchers are doing research around the Gulf of Maine And it's a really appropriate setting because as you tackle climate issues We're learning every day about what's happening out there and the incredible changes that our region are going to face over the next Over the next decade or or generation And we're also we've been partnering with Portland and South Portland on educating our community around sea level rise In fact, we have a presentation tomorrow night in this space around sea level rise and you're welcome to come back for that But meanwhile, thank you so much for coming. It's really exciting to be able to host here and looking forward to today's Event. Thank you Great. Thank you Jonathan and Thank you for letting us use this amazing space to kick off our one climate future Planning process. I'm Troy moon. I'm the sustainability coordinator for the city of Portland and certainly welcome you to the GMR I certainly want to thank a number of partners who are here We're thank Margaret Cummings from GMRI who helped us get this space all set up and we have a number of our folks from our consulting team We have Kim Lundgren from like Kim Lundgren Associates like him We have Ian Johnson from Lynanne Solutions and Mary House from Rudin Kern I'm sure there are others and there's many community partners. I've seen that we've been working with we have GP Cobb represented University of Southern Maine Conservation Law Foundation are members of our Portland climate action team and I'm sure there are others who Who I haven't had a chance to greet yet. Oh friends of Casco Bay So welcome everybody and we appreciate your support and we look forward to working with you As we develop our one climate action plan Just to set the stage for how we got here Both cities Portland and South Portland have set ambitious climate goals We want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 And we want to run our municipal operations on 100% clean energy by 2040 So those are concrete steps that we know we want to take We've also taken a number of other things We're both cities have instituted solar arrays on our landfills and we're putting solar on other buildings in the community And we're both adopted energy benchmarking ordinances So our commercial sector can begin to identify the amount of energy they use to operate their businesses And hopefully we can encourage them to make improvements We've worked really hard on reducing our waste we have very aggressive recycling programs and both cities were leaders in reducing the use of polystyrene foam and plastic bags that we're Thrilled to see that the state is now following the lead of Portland and South Portland to take action on polystyrene foam and bags So those are some things that we're really excited about doing and I want to pass it over to Julie Great. Hi, everybody. I'm Julie Rosenbach. I'm the sustainability director for the city of South Portland And what I want to say is Troy and I have been working a lot together It makes sense for both cities as we've been working on all of these projects together To take the next natural step and take leadership on developing a climate action and adaptation plan That we consider a regional plan Our plan is called one climate future charting a course for Portland and South Portland And I'm happy to say that this plan is going to be one plan for both cities And as far as we know it is the only we are the only two cities that are partnering to do a joint regional plan that we know of in the country It makes a lot of sense and it makes it extremely exciting We recognize that business as usual is not sustainable and that we must take Transform that we must make transformative changes in our communities So this plan is going to help us reimagine our cities and reinvent our cities in ways that promote economic Prosperity social equity ways that preserve and improve our quality of life and build Climate resilience and we're really excited that you're here today to kick these off with us. Thank you Thank you, Julie. Good morning. My name is Claude Morgan. I'm the mayor of South Portland. I want to welcome everybody here Thanks so much for coming out for your support colleagues visitors members of the press mayor Strimling Sometimes appreciating the present and future Requires a little context. So I want to offer a brief history here about the long steady journey we have Used to arrive at and celebrate here today The city I represent so proudly South Portland first officially committed to reducing its carbon footprint in 2007 The year our nation failed to sign the landmark Kyoto protocols an Environmental commitment that pose showed that the public supported overwhelmingly in its numbers So we tackled at the local level what our leaders at the federal level failed to achieve. I Had the pleasure of signing the mayoral climate agreement in my first term as mayor more than a decade ago and Since the moment that we first joined with hundreds of other cities Across the country to compensate for the lack of leadership at the federal level My city has upped its commitment to reducing our environmental footprint Again and again and again We've upped our game and our goals Over time we recognized we needed a professional to help us manage our ambition So we created and funded the position of sustainability director in South Portland and since that time We've entered into private and public partnerships that now bless us with the largest municipal solar array in the state a Ban on the use of harmful pesticides Styrofoam and single-use plastic bags and we have so much more in the hopper Including the mitigation of sea level rise South Portland is green and since we're so good at being green Communities routinely approach us to share our knowledge with them. So did I say our knowledge? Let's face it They're asking for Julie Rosenbach and her knowledge. It's plain and simple So Julie in the city are generous and we're collaborative by nature So it makes perfect sense that we would share and Collaborate with a neighbor so close in proximity a neighbor with whom we share both so many precious resources and So many serious demands for action Collaboration is key. It's cost-efficient. We buy our services in bulk It brings more brains to the table more collective experiences and more points of view Amplify any one individual contribution and very importantly Collaboration often leads to more collaboration because it works Mayor Stremling, I'm honored to begin this important new project between our two cities We can only guess what other collaborations will grow out of our one climate future initiative I have no doubt that those projects will only enhance the inclusive and vibrant nature of our two communities and We'll provide opportunities for residents as and businesses to thrive in this shared changing climate Here we have two communities known for walking the walk as well as talking the talk Two communities tied by a body of water and more important two communities that share the same values and vision and Take seriously our responsibilities to the region on behalf of the city of South Portland I'm here to proudly proclaim our commitment to working with your great city for a one climate future Thank you mayor appreciate those comments very much and really is an honor to be here today I do want to make sure you know we those of us who are elected officials We like to certainly take credit for all kinds of things, but let's be very clear today This is really happening because of those two people right there Troy and Julie could we please just give them a round of applause and thanks They are they are tremendous leaders in the community Understand what's going on in our climate and they recognize that if we don't do something now We are in a desperate straits. This is simply an issue. We cannot get wrong This is simply an issue We cannot sit by and allow to happen without taking very aggressive very clear Action and we need to start being we need to start taking that action in a way. That's much more significant We've done a lot of talking. We've done a lot of thinking We've done a lot of planning and we've started to put steps in place But we all understand that if we don't begin to ramp up that work There will be no turning back That's why we're here today That's why mayor Morgan and I wanted to be here to come together to talk about our two communities These two most significant in size communities in the area and invite other communities to also begin joining us To participate in this as I said, we simply can't get this wrong Nothing else matters if we get this wrong We can fight for property tax relief. We can try to build affordable housing. We can build better schools But if we get this wrong That doesn't matter We should do all of that work because we must But we got to get this one right and I'm very proud to be here with all of you today to make sure that we get that done So thank you very much for having us today and I look forward to hearing from all the speakers and hearing about the plan. Thank you Hi, everyone. I'm Monique Coombs. I'm the director of marine programs for the main coast Fisherman's Association I'm also married to a commercial fisherman. I live in Harpswell, but I'm in Portland pretty frequently And I wanted to echo both the mayors to say thank you to Troy and Julie especially for making a proactive effort to include commercial fishermen in these conversations, so Fishermen are on the front lines of climate change and sea level rise Experiencing firsthand their impacts the Gulf of Maine a place that is warming faster than any other body of water is Seeing new species arrive and some of the usual species migrate outside of traditional fishing grounds Fishermen also see ocean acidification and increasing number of predators in the water and rapidly changing weather patterns They are all too with familiar with how things are shifting their input perspectives and stories are important to consider When planning for changes on Portland and South Portland's waterfront The mission of the Maine coast Fisherman's Association is to restore the fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and sustain Maine's fishing communities for future generations No small feat this mission often compels us to find a delicate balance between what's best for the ocean and the future of the fishing industry Climate change and fisheries management are not mutually exclusive And we believe that we can create change now that will benefit fishermen and our environment in the future Collaboration between scientists fishermen and fisheries managers Educating the public about sustainable seafood and green energy both on land and on boats will help us all work towards our goals for a healthy environment and prosperous fishing industry Fishermen and their businesses are greatly impacted by climate change and it's important to remember that fishermen and their businesses Can also provide and execute valuable solutions The fishing industry is one of our greatest assets, but it is also an industry most vulnerable to climate change Any loss to the fishing industry because of climate change sea level rise or ocean acidification is a loss to Maine and our culture and way of life But if we act now and plan for adaptation and change that includes a thriving fishing industry Man can continue to enjoy healthy seafood and a unique and wonderful way of life Lastly We should all remember all of us as consumers eating seafood is one of the healthiest things that you can do For your mind body and the planet So eat a diet full of mains wonderful sustainable and diverse seafood options. Thank you Hi, we're Lee and Miles and we are here as community members We take lots of walks very slow walks in our neighborhood in fairy village and at the pier we watch fishermen lobstermen load their boats and we see the The fairies going out to the islands and we see the little boats of sail Maine doing loop-de-loos and then a tugboat heads out and brings back a freighter I'm skip and we're in awe of the bigness and We're in awe of the distance traveled and then we hear an Osprey overhead brings up a different awe I'm living here. I So appreciate the small-town feel and getting to be a city and how connected our life can be with the natural world And we head down what used to be the main drag to the center of fairy village You may not know it. It's very small and there's an open sign flying over the knitting nook a loved local spot Where community members gathered a couple months ago? Just to talk about climate change and the role of community in supporting the necessary changes ahead And this is how I got to meet Julie and Lucy And something that struck me in their work Was how they held the importance of the small close-knit community as well as the global perspective on community and Somehow in what they're doing they are tethering those two We head back up the slight hill towards our house and talk about our favorite trees and the plants we see And I'm reminded of sitting in storytelling circles with elders and Hearing perspectives that give me insight on those fading signs and the sides of buildings and being able to picture The ice wagon coming along these roads and I wonder the stories. We will tell and that we will pass on And I hope those are stories of thoughtfulness and intentionality That honor what is beautiful that honor the osprey and it also address things that really Big things that really need addressing and I'm so appreciative of our two cities taking this action so that we can all be a part of Shaping what's to come So so that this place both these towns and these cities, but also this world is a place. It's People can call home in the future Both as a place. It's safe and healthy for all forms of life. Thank you Good morning. My name is Drew Swenson. I'm a CPA here in the city. I've been practicing for about 34 years I somewhat represent the business sector here today about 30 Some odd years ago back in in 84 I was one of the founders of marita, which is the responsible real estate economic development organization the state that represents the real estate trades More recently, I was pleased and honored to be asked to chair Portland's 2030 district its purpose is to reduce utility consumption, which is fuels water electricity by 50% by 2030 in the Portland commercial real estate market all Part of doing things that are are mitigants to try to reduce climate change and global warming and create more sustainable buildings But on top of the mitigation things that we are all trying to do in the private sector with our buildings We also think about the fact that whatever we do is only going to have a longer term effect But we have real term real time needs right now for adaptation changes Whether those are barriers at our waterfronts or new marshlands And so as we think about this large public private venture that we're all about to embark on and have been working on for years I represent part of the private sector who recognizes we have to do this as a team event And there's a lot of work to do. There's a lot of information and knowledge We don't have that we look to this group to help us provides that we can be a very thoughtful and proactive Participant in creating long-term sustainability in our environment, but also protecting both Private structures and helping protect public infrastructure that we all rely on these two great communities To enjoy the way of life that we've all enjoyed for so many years. So thank you I also look forward to being a participant in this for a long time Good morning. My name is Susan Henderson on the South Portland City Council. I'm also a retired registered nurse I think my talk is focused on the empowering quality of hope We all live as humans on a magnificent biological planet What is affects part of the system affects the whole and for our basic needs for Air for water for food for housing to raise a family to work to have peace in the world All of these things are dependent on the condition of our environment We have the ability to help heal some of the damage that pollution has already done and we have the ability To build and create a sustainable future for future generations The survival of our planet and the survival of our future depends on us How can we as two little cities in this world that seems such a mess? How could we dare? consider this Well, that's where the hope comes in and the power of hope. I'd like to read a quote from Robert Kennedy from 1966 He said each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve a lot of others or Strikes out against injustice He sends forth the tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring These ripples build a current that can sweep down the mindiest walls of oppression and resistance After hope we need a vision and then we need will and Our nation has shown that we have the ability to do those things We conquered the Great Depression in the 30s We just recently celebrated D-Day with the Normandy invasion and defeating Hitler And we have put people on the moon So we are capable We can create a future for all of us on this life-giving planet The small steps that we begin with one climate future Will be part of ripples of hope crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring Thank you. Good morning. My name is Amy and My name is Siri and we're representatives from Solaris Portland a group advocating for solar rays on school buildings in Portland We all know our futures will be impacted by climate change and That's why we must work as a collective to Sorry, we must work as a collective to ensure that our communities continue to be the best to to continue to be the best place offering opportunities for all and that's why We should all know that climate change will affect everyone But most communities will some some communities will be affected than others neighborhoods with less Resources will probably be the one to to face the climate change the climate Change crisis in order to access No, sorry in order to ensure an equitable future for all we must develop systems that improve accessibility to crucial resources in order to accomplish this we must include all community voices in the discussion if we listen to the needs of the Individuals who are most affected Portland and South Portland as a whole will become More resilient. Thank you In 2050 we will be 48 and climate change will be a factor in our lives every day Climate change is no longer going to happen. It is happening and it will affect our generation the most I Love our cities both Portland and South Portland and I want to protect it not just for my generation But the next generations to come Imagine widespread Lyme disease outbreaks or commercial street underwater These are not versions of a dystopian version of Portland and South Portland. These are realities our generation will have to confront For too long our leaders have either ignored the evidence or refused to take action And we cannot afford to do this anymore in Order to diminish the impacts of this crisis and protect Portland for future generations We need to start taking action now and that is why we are so grateful that Both cities have taken action to create this Collaborative plan and I'm hopeful about the future of our cities Wow We have an amazing community in Portland and South Portland Amazing All of our speakers all of you. This is not our plan. This is not our one climate future It's our one climate future and we are depending on Everybody in here to help pitch in and everybody is working on it and what we're trying to do is harness all of that and build on it And so this is going to be a call to action and before Troy speaks more about our call to action There's two people in here that we haven't recognized yet And if you think that Troy and I are alone in in spearheading all of this work We are not we have two seek super secret weapons And that is Ashley Ashley Krulik. Can you come up and? Lucy Brennan Ashley Ashley and works with Troy in Portland and Lucy works with me in South Portland and if you haven't Come across them or spoken with them Then then you will soon and if you have you know that they are our super secret weapons And that we are all working together on this and we are it really I think the thing that Inspires us all is is the partnerships that we're building around this and so we can't wait to keep working more and As Amy said to reach out to every single person in our community to create this one climate future So thank you so much for being here Troy right Thanks, Julie and as Amy and Julie mentioned it's very very important for us to get input From all members of our community all across generations and ethnicities and races and socio Economic status we want everyone to play a part in that and as you came in The door I think you may have met some of members of our street team There are young people who will be going to events around both cities and we have a survey And there'll be a series of surveys actually that they will be helping members of the community take and talking about the climate action plan and getting people's input about About how they imagine the future in Portland South Portland should be so Outfront on your way out. You can talk to Medi Julia, Abram and Jess who are the street team members They'll be happy to see you and I would also invite you to our web page, which is one climate future O-r-g There's a lot of information about about the program there. You can take the survey yourself It's on it's linked to the web page and that will be a great way to stay in touch with all the programs We're anticipating this process will wrap up in June of next year in the meantime between now and the end of this year We will be doing our public engagement. We're working with our consulting team to Annalyte we're doing a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory We're looking at all of the different studies We've done over the past number of years and doing some more to identify the impacts and hazards That will be facing with climate change and then certainly we'll be taking input from our community members and from our scientific community on The next steps we should take to protect our communities and make sure that they're thriving liveable cities in 2050 and again, we thank everybody for coming here today and we look forward to working with all of you. Thank you One of the biggest things that in the private sector we struggle with is information What are the issues? Are they going to affect our particular properties our communities? What do we do to execute or implement? Adaptation strategies and what might best work? How do we finance those? Is it partly public private or is it all private? But what we found throughout the nation that the Portland's 2030 district is part of many other 2030 districts throughout the US and The biggest struggle we all face in all our communities is Informing people as to what their choices are. How can we make our buildings more sustainable? What is the payback? Because that's always an economic interest if I'm going to spend a dollar when am I going to get that dollar back? That's the nature of business So what we try to do is to educate get people past that barrier of well I don't know so I'm not going to do anything and so if we can involve The public sector and those who know more about these issues than somebody who knows real estate and bricks and mortar then the more Easily we'll be able to implement change that helps us in the long term from a mitigation perspective Which is very important But then we also have to deal with the more current adaptation issues that are affecting many of our communities on the waterfront Or where there are rivers that are now eroding and just from the the chronic water And tropical kind of level storms we're getting so I think Education and and disseminating that education is probably the biggest thing that can happen right now And then ultimately when we're dealing with actual implementation strategies for mitigation and adaptation talking to the public sector Perhaps our municipal Municipalities about how we might be able to finance some of those if they're more difficult or problematic and the benefits are for all of us I hope that helps answer the question so Solaris Portland started at With a small group of students and now we've expanded to become a collaboration among students across Portland schools And we're working with city leaders to develop a plan to install solar rays on Portland school buildings That's a great question Reaching out to all members of our community is absolutely Vital and certainly seniors are important member of our community and many seniors have lived through some trying times of Been the people who have helped You know put a person on the moon and helped us defeat Hitler So they have institutional memory. They remember how the community might have been in previous times that maybe We operated in more sustainable manner. So I think that seniors will play in a really important role in the plan That's true. And the commute the goal that both of our city council set is 80% reduction Community why not just for municipal operations is for everybody and that's why we need everybody To play a part whether they're you know a resident or a business owner or a municipal official It's everybody Everybody needs to come together to meet those goals because it's going to be challenging, but it's a bit. It's a it's something We have to do we're working with our consulting team to do a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory for 2017 So we're going to set 2017 as our benchmark year and we will measure progress Based on that so I know other communities have set bait your baseline years as like 1990 So we've already both cities have already done quite a few things to reduce our mission So we're actually saying to buy a little bit a little bit higher by using 2017 I just want to add something to that because that is a really really Transformational goal. It's huge. We want to reimagine our energy systems our transportation systems We want to look at waste reduction and start making progress there While these are hugely ambitious goals, they are absolutely attainable and achievable We have a pathway there our goal is to set this this big vision for what we want to be in 2050 Which is basically carbon-neutral and then our plan will set out the next 25 50 however many action items it takes between now and an interim date like the next 25 action items that we can do to start moving us towards that direction in a meaningful way Practically so there are ways that we can do it I'm sure our plan will change over and over again between now and 2050. There's things we can't even imagine But we know how to start walking towards those ways. We have the means We have the leadership and we have the commitment and it's a matter of getting it out there And we've we've seen a ton of support from residents. I agree that we need to include everybody's voice So our survey all of our outreach material. It's in different languages. It's both printed and on the web. It's in Little app things and and people can come and they can call us and they can just you know We've handed some out paper versions with stamped self-addressed envelopes and people have mailed them back So it should be accessible to everybody and we want to hear from everybody. So thank you That's a great point. Now. We're really excited to see the state government take up the mantle on climate action It's something we've you know as community members have been interested in seeing for a long time So we you know we have certainly have issues locally that we that we'll need to take up But we're part of the state and we would welcome collaborating with the governor's Climate Task Force to get more ideas and to hopefully provide some input to the work that she and her administration are doing as well I think that I think that she indicated Out of in her bill out of all the stakeholders to make sure that there was a municipal voice on that stakeholder group So that will be that would be great step And so once again, we want to thank everybody for coming today to help kick off our one climate action one climate future climate action planning process and We appreciate the warm kickoff and we look forward to working with everybody