Declaring a climate emergency in Sudbury and taking steps to address it, including hiring a sustainability director, will be up for a vote at Sudbury Annual Town Meeting in May.
A virtual public form on Town Meeting Article 58 “Why Declare a Climate Emergency in Sudbury?” was held April 4, sponsored by Sustainable Sudbury and the League of Women Voters of Sudbury. The video is now available to watch below and on Sudbury TV. (The LWV announced April 20th that they endorse Article 58.)
The speakers were Andrea Becerra, Sustainability Director, Acton; Launa Zimmaro, LWV state specialist on climate and energy legislation; and Dr. Kaat Vander Straeten, co-founder and vice president, MassEnergize, an organization empowering communities to take local climate action.
The climate emergency declaration warrant article will be voted on with any other citizen petitions at the end of Town Meeting, which begins Monday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. For more information see SustainableSudbury.org/climate-emergency/.
Warrant article 58 offers a resolution that Sudbury declare a climate emergency requiring urgent action and a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in town as quickly as possible. To meet that commitment, the warrant article authorizes Sudbury to hire a sustainability director, as Acton, Concord, Natick, and other MA towns have done. It proposes creation of a task force to develop an action plan to address the climate crisis, including specific strategies.
“The declaration of a climate emergency is an official acknowledgment by the people of Sudbury that all of humanity, including Sudbury, is in a climate emergency – a dangerous situation calling for immediate action. To date, 23 Massachusetts municipalities have made similar declarations, including our neighbors, Acton and Wayland,” said Leslie Lowe, coordinator of Sustainable Sudbury’s climate emergency working group.