Dozens on hand at community college for climate 'listening session' - Herald-Mail Media

Dozens on hand at community college for climate 'listening session'

Maryland Department of the Environment meets to hear climate concerns
Dwight A. Weingarten

About 40 people were on hand Tuesday night at Hagerstown Community College for a “listening session” led by the Maryland Department of the Environment about the state’s climate pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act put forth the twin targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2006 levels by 2031 and getting to a net-zero trajectory by 2045.

The state met its 2020 goal in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 levels, but the department is scheduled to finalize a report by December to chart the course ahead.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to hear as many different perspectives as we can from every part of the state,” said Chris Hoagland, who led the session and serves as the director of the air and radiation administration at the Maryland Department of the Environment based in Baltimore.

More: Q&A: Maryland expert talks climate change, wind energy and more before listening sessions

In an interview after the event, Hoagland said there was a “wide diversity of viewpoints here,” citing forestry concerns and interaction with the landscape as two of his takeaways from the dozen or so individuals who spoke during the open comment period.

Clear Spring resident Lynn Weaver came to the session out of concern for his five children.

“I want my kids to be able to live here and afford to live here,” said Weaver, in an interview after the event, which began with a presentation on the report by Hoagland and a manager from the University of Maryland Center for Global Sustainability.

Weaver was not among those who approached the microphone during public comment.

Representatives from both a propane gas association and Columbia Gas of Maryland spoke as did an Indian Springs resident with a home solar installation, an advocate for a “plant-based lifestyle,” and the CEO of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, among others.

“I would be alarmed if we did not hear more than one side,” said Del. Karen Simpson, D-Frederick, who drove from Baltimore to attend the department’s sole Western Maryland event.

There was only brief dialogue about electric vehicles in the 90-minute session. Transportation activities, the largest emissions source, accounted for 29% of total U.S. emissions in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the state has set a goal to have 300,000 electric vehicles registered and on the road by 2025. Maryland had less than 70,000 in April.

More: As Moore administration races ahead with clean cars, state far behind goal

The next stop on the road for the listening sessions is scheduled to be Salisbury University on Saturday, Aug. 19. A virtual session for elected officials only is scheduled for Sept. 5.

Besides Simpson, the delegate representing a Frederick County district, no other county or state elected officials attended Tuesday’s session in Washington County, the state’s third most-western jurisdiction. The first-term delegate said she appreciated the Maryland Department of Environment coming out west to Hagerstown.

“I would rather hear (concerns) ahead of time,” said Simpson, alluding to the public input on the state’s climate strategies to reach the legislatively mandated goals of reducing emissions. “It’s going to be on the people, it’s going to be on these businesses to make it happen.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.