HADLEY — Voters will get an opportunity this fall to go on the record with their concerns about the global and regional climate emergency, along with the approaches the town might take to deal with the crisis.
Before a resolution and emergency declaration is presented to a special Town Meeting in late October, the Climate Change Committee, which is looking for the town to go on record with its concerns, is holding a public information forum Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Senior Center.
The forum comes after the Select Board chose not to adopt a resolution over the summer that would have called for the town to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 and get to net carbon emissions of zero by 2050. That resolution also suggested upgrades to every residential and commercial building to state-of-the-art energy efficiencies, and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.
Instead, members of the Select Board said more townspeople should have input, especially when it came to decisions related to agriculture. In conversations with farmers, board member Randy Izer said there appeared to be divisions about whether aspects of the resolution would prompt them to pursue different strategies.
Climate Change Committee Chairman Jack Czajkowski said the forum will have experts, gather ideas about what Hadley residents think about climate change, and offer suggestions for what the town should do.
Participants in the forum will include Select Board Chairwoman Jane Nevinsmith and Izer; Julie Brigham-Grette, a professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts; Andrew Smith, coordinator of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness for the Greater Connecticut River Valley Region; and Josh Shanley, who handles climate change readiness and disaster preparedness for the city of Northampton.
Since December 2016, more than 2,240 local governments in 39 countries have made climate emergency declarations, according to the Hadley panel.
“The Hadley Climate Change Committee is proposing Hadley join these governments around the country and the world to affirm its commitment and intention to take action to reduce its emissions and prepare for the impacts of a dangerously changing climate,” it wrote in material publicizing the event.
Thursday’s event comes as a follow-up to the first Hadley Climate Day that coincided with Earth Day in April.
Although masks and face coverings are not required, they are strongly suggested for attendees.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
