Andover Climate Action Plan Survey Closing, Forum Scheduled

ANDOVER, MA — The Town of Andover is reminding residents about a few important upcoming dates in the town's development of a Climate Action and Sustainability Plan.

The Climate Action Plan, according to town officials, is designed to achieve long-term and interim emissions reduction goals that align with the state's Clean Energy and Climate Plan. The latter is designed to incrementally reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.

"The Climate Action and Sustainability Plan will provide a comprehensive roadmap for reducing greenhouse emissions in Andover in the decades ahead," said Joyce Losick-Yang, Andover's director of sustainability.

This Wednesday, April 5, is the last day residents can fill out the The Climate Action and Sustainability Plan Survey, which is available online. The survey will take about 10 minutes and is designed to gather input from students, businesses, renters and homeowners about the community's climate and sustainability priorities.

On April 10, a Climate Forum will be held at Memorial Hall Library, 2 N Main St., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

At the forum, Weston & Sampson, environmental consultants, will reveal the results from the Climate Action Plan Survey and propose some preliminary actions and strategies that will help Andover lower its carbon emissions, according to officials.

Additionally, volunteers from the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee will discuss conversations they have had with companies about reducing emissions. The Steering Committee features members of the community who have expertise in sustainability and resilience.

The April 10 event will conclude with a workshop, where discussions will center around the priorities for climate action.

Town officials said that capacity for the event will be capped at 55,and people will be seated on a first come, first-served basis.

Andover officials also issued a Save the Date notice for April 27, when a Climate Resilience Visioning Charrette is scheduled. Officials said they will have more information about the event soon.

Andover's Climate Action and Sustainability Plan development process began with a kickoff meeting this past December.

Anybody with questions about that process, survey or forum, or who would like to get involved with Andover's sustainability efforts, can reach out to Losick-Yang at joyce.losickyang@andoverma.us.