Portsmouth's Climate Future

NEW!

Check out the top strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our upcoming Climate Action Plan - see these strategies and leave feedback here.

Interested in looking at all of the proposed Climate Action Plan strategies? Find a total list of draft strategies here and in the sidebar on the right. If you'd like to provide feedback on all of the strategies, please do so here.

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Join our upcoming conversation on local climate action next Wednesday, September 27th at Liars Bench Beer Co. in Portsmouth. Swing by between 6 - 8:00 p.m. for a CAP update and to join community members in discussing greenhouse gas emissions and ways to take action for reducing environmental impacts.

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September 2022 Update

In collaboration with the City’s consultant team of VHB, Resilience Planning & Design, and the Rockingham Planning Commission, the Project Team held our most recent public workshop on July 31st. A preliminary inventory of climate change mitigation strategies was presented and participants were given the opportunity to provide their comments and feedback, as well as suggest priorities for implementation. Post-workshop, working with the volunteer Climate Ambassadors, the City continued to collect public feedback to help further inform strategy development and prioritization. The consultant team has since refined the inventory of strategies to call attention to those with the greatest impact potential (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions reduction) and highest costs. The City is keenly interested in receiving pubic feedback on these strategies through the EasyRetro tool. All strategies under consideration have been posted to the Portsmouth’s Climate Future website.

Lastly, the City has been working closely with the Rockingham Planning Commission to update regional transportation and population models. These models will provide results critical for forecasting future greenhouse gas emissions under a Business-As-Usual scenario.

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As a coastal community with climate hazards becoming ever more present, the City of Portsmouth is engaging its community and other stakeholders in developing “Portsmouth’s Climate Future.” This effort will culminate in an Action Plan that will identify and phase targeted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, avoidance, and removals at the municipal and community levels, while simultaneously identifying effective adaptation measures to make the City more resilient against future climate change impacts. With much of the City’s most treasured resources and many infrastructure assets located along its historic waterfront and directly vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge, there is no time to wait. Portsmouth’s Climate Future will not only define and prioritize the actions needed from City staff and leadership, but will also call upon all those who live, work, and play in Portsmouth to make meaningful commitments to ensure it becomes a more climate friendly and resilient community for generations to come.