We need to protect New Hampshire from climate change for generations to come. That's why it's important we ramp up our action. Photo: EcoPhotography.
The Problem
Climate change isn’t some far-off problem that will happen in the future. From increasingly frequent and severe rainstorms to milder winters, to hotter summers, climate change in New Hampshire is happening now. Yet state leaders have been slow to act. The current Climate Action Plan is 15 years old, and has essentially sat on a shelf, ignored, since its creation. New Hampshire needs to start acting on climate now, starting by updating the state’s Climate Action Plan and then ensuring its implementation.
Where things Stand
CLF has been at the table making sure state leaders are ushering in a clean energy future – from our fight against a drastically slashed energy efficiency plan to pushing for more public electric vehicle charging stations.
But the reality is that New Hampshire leaders have been resistant to climate action – and they can get away with it because there’s no law to hold them accountable. New Hampshire’s residents are suffering as a consequence. We can easily look back to when electricity prices nearly doubled thanks to the state’s fossil fuel-biased energy decisions. Or the fact that 2023 was the wettest year on record for the state, thanks to climate change.
That’s why we need a mechanism that charts a path forward to move off fossil fuels and towards clean, affordable energy. An updated Climate Plan can help us get moving.
Progress
After being awarded a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the EPA, the state is embarking on the first of a two-step process to update its Climate Action Plan. In this first stage, the Department of Environmental Services will create a roadmap of climate solutions that can cut carbon pollution. This roadmap is called the “Priority Climate Action Plan” and the EPA asks for the specific goals of:
- Cutting climate pollution and creating new jobs in the growing clean energy industry,
- Supporting community-driven solutions to climate change, specifically in neighborhoods that shoulder the worst impacts of the climate crisis,
- Directing 40% of any benefits (like economic benefits) to communities that have borne disproportionate climate impacts, and
- Slashing air pollution.
Next Steps
The Department needs to hear from you about why updating the Plan is so important. You can use your voice by submitting a comment via email. Please include your name, organization, mailing address, email address, and telephone number in the email. Please also use the following subject line: “Public Notice – Draft Priority Measures for New Hampshire’s Priority Climate Action Plan.” You can submit comments until February 20.
Not sure what to say? Share your observations of climate change in your community and climate solutions you’d like to see the state pursue. Some other talking points you can bring to the meetings include:
- New Hampshire’s Climate Action Plan should set the state on a path to reaching net zero carbon pollution by 2050, the target scientists have said is the most important to slow climate change.
- The Plan should acknowledge how climate change has already affected the state, including from severe rainstorms, coastal flooding, increased public health risks, the loss of winter recreational activities, and the cost to the state of continued climate inaction.
- The Plan should address the climate impacts of transportation, making electric vehicles and public charging stations more widespread, accessible, and affordable for all residents, and increasing investments in public transit.
- The Plan should support building more clean energy, like solar and wind, in tandem with electrifying our transportation system and home heating.
- The Plan should set a clear path toward implementation of climate solutions.
Importantly, our work isn’t done when the Department finishes and submits this roadmap. Next comes the roadmap’s implementation, or the “Comprehensive Climate Action Plan,” an equally important step to ensure the roadmap’s promises are implemented. To stay posted on how you can support the state’s efforts, make sure to sign up for CLF’s e-news.
