Implementing and monitoring community based climate action plans

Local communities and states are taking an increasingly active role in promoting climate protection activities. Creating an emissions inventory and an action plan are commonly the first steps. As the number of action plans increases, common problems associated with the implementation, monitoring and reporting come to the fore. The risk that climate protection action plans will languish as planning documents, and fail to generate both the scope and magnitude of emissions reductions envisioned is very real. Early success stories, based in part upon strong collaboration and the identification of key issues that can be overcome through cooperative efforts, will encourage more communities to make climate protection commitments. Likewise, early failures to generate or monitor significant benefits could place a damper on the future potential for local mobilization. This paper reviews some of the critical issues threatening successful implementation, and identifies specific opportunities for strategic collaborative undertakings. Monitoring and reporting (M&R) receive the most attention. The results from an informal email survey to assess the status of M&R in nine communities committed to the implementation of local climate action plans are presented later in the paper. Experience from Burlington, Vermont, where implementation strategies currently under consideration include a 10 Percent Climate Challenge Campaign to motivate and inform the general public, and the development and implementation of M&R systems are also discussed.