Cape Cod Commission holds community climate meetings

Attendees from across the region offer feedback to establish a framework for mitigating and adapting to climate change on Cape Cod

In October, the Cape Cod Commission hosted a series of sub-regional community meetings that solicited input on planning priorities, concerns, and barriers to moving climate adaptation and mitigation actions forward throughout the region.

Feedback received from nearly 200 community participants was the first step towards informing a strategic framework and collaborative approach to address the region’s contributions to and threats from climate change.

“Engaging in a thoughtful collaborative process with a diverse group of stakeholders was a critical first step towards shaping a Cape Cod Climate Initiative,” said Commission Executive Director Kristy Senatori. “We were encouraged to see broad community support for the process and are already looking ahead to develop focus groups around the concerns and opportunities addressed in these meetings.”

Meetings were held across the region in Chatham, Wellfleet, Yarmouth, and Mashpee, and engaged participants from the public and private sectors, non-profits and other interested citizens. Participants worked in small groups to discuss barriers and challenges, process and outcomes, and opportunities related to climate change in our region.

During the meetings, Commission staff shared information from ongoing coastal resilience and climate-related work, including a process for establishing a regional greenhouse gas emissions baseline and progress toward identifying potential locations for electric vehicle charging stations. Staff also presented the newly released Cape Cod Coastal Planner (available at www.capecodcoast.org), a communication and decision support tool available to assist communities as they educate and plan for climate change hazards impacting Cape Cod’s coastline.

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