The Vermont Climate Action Office (CAO) coordinates and provides significant expertise and capacity on state-led climate initiatives, as well as the monitoring, assessment and tracking of climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience activities necessary to evaluate progress over time in achieving the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) through implementation of the Climate Action Plan. The CAO is a division within the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) Secretary’s Office, and is focused on three core areas:
- Climate Program Coordination
- On-going support of implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA)
- Community and Stakeholder Engagement
The policies, programs, and tools needed to implement climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies require a long-term intergovernmental structure to coordinate and manage this statewide effort. To carry out this work, the CAO works closely with staff across ANR, other state Agencies, the State Climatologist, and key stakeholders such as the Vermont Climate Council. We acknowledge the importance of the public’s role, specifically those of frontline and impacted communities, in enabling climate action. The CAO is committed to ensuring activities conducted by the CAO encourage broad citizen participation. The CAO commits to fostering partnerships in pursuit of effective delivery of climate solutions for all Vermonters.
To further advance coordination across state Agencies, an Inter-Agency Advisory Board meets regularly to coordinate on climate action across state government with the following objectives:
- Provide a space for proactive coordination on climate action across state government.
- Articulate where policy and financial implications overlap around climate action to ensure resources are maximized.
- Support the monitoring of progress over time in meeting the state’s climate goals and requirements.
- Identify and frame up gaps where the CAO might prioritize support.
- Develop state positions on issues related to climate change.
The Inter-Agency Advisory Board includes the following governmental agencies and partners:
- Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets
- Agency of Commerce and Community Development
- Agency of Human Services (Department of Children & Families, and Department of Health)
- Agency of Natural Resources
- Agency of Transportation
- Department of Buildings & General Services
- Department of Public Service
- Vermont State Climatologist
- Vermont Division of Emergency Management