AMHERST — Achieving a townwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and focusing on measures to combat climate change are likely to require significant funding in future Amherst budgets.
Even though there is uncertainty about how soon the town might be able to invest in climate-oriented initiatives, members of the town’s Energy and Climate Action Committee say that having a president in the White House issuing executive orders compatible with the town’s plans should increase confidence in achieving these goals.
Committee member Ashwin Ravikumar told the Town Council at a meeting earlier this month that President Joe Biden’s actions are an exciting moment for climate policy, as he brings a critical “breath of fresh air” and is moving forward with momentum to address climate change at the federal level.
In November 2019, the Town Council unanimously adopted goals to reduce emissions by 25% by 2025 and by 50% by 2030, which Ravikumar calls “really big bold commitments from Amherst that we have to act boldly to meet.”
Biden’s executive orders so far have instructed all federal agencies to center climate change in their planning and committed 40% of federal investments to front-line, especially Black and indigenous, communities, an important element of the climate justice movement that has deep support in Amherst, Ravikumar said.
“We’ve heard from our community that this is really important to residents here,” he said, adding that the council’s recent adoption of a resolution opposing a biomass plant in Springfield demonstrates this.
One of the critical tasks is for Amherst to do more to involve the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities, as well as low-income residents and renters who are less likely to be able to invest in solar panels or programs that help them reduce consumption, Ravikumar said.
Committee Vice Chairwoman Andra Rose said the town is already making some progress toward cutting emissions, such as partnering in the Community Choice Aggregation with Northampton and Pelham, installing new charging stations for electric vehicles, getting solar arrays on the former landfill off Belchertown Road and having a mobile market that provides fresh food and supports sustainable farming, going directly to neighborhoods with apartment complexes.
Rose said an immediate $25,000 may be needed to study how to site solar panels on parking lots and roofs at the public schools.
More money will be needed to get an intern to assist Sustainability Coordinator Stephanie Ciccarello, and eventually put on more staff to handle work, including overseeing the implementation of the Climate Action, Adaptation and Resiliency Plan, which will be completed in May with first-year actions. Other positions could be an energy specialist with an engineering background, a staff member to track greenhouse gas inventory and environmental justice liaisons.
Overcoming the barriers to participation, Ravikumar said, could be done with more direct advocacy to get households to participate in energy savings programs.
District 5 Councilor Darcy DuMont said Amherst will need to find ways to make money available in the town budget for these projects.
“In this era of the new normal, we do need to be constantly thinking of how we can reprioritize our spending to meet the changing needs of our community, to be climate resilient and reducing our emissions,” DuMont said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
