Dane County To Be National Leader In Climate Change Efforts
June 21, 2018
Stephanie Miller 608-267-8823
County Executive
Recent Floods Across Wisconsin Highlight Need to Address Climate Change
Dane County Executive Parisi announced today that Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change has received a $29,500 grant from the Carolyn Foundation in Minneapolis to help make Dane County a national leader in the effort to address climate change. The Grant will allow Dane County to fulfill a contract with world-class modelers to model various polices, programs and projects to be included in a Dane County Climate Action Plan.
“With evidence of climate change all around us, Dane County is making a strong commitment to deep analysis of the most effective mitigation available, ” noted Parisi. “This week we have had communities flooded and more storm events than ever before. We can’t sit back and do nothing we must address climate change head on.”
The Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change (OECC) has convened a Council on Climate Change consisting of 37 organizations that represent a diverse mix of stakeholder perspectives and County leaders to help Dane County Develop a Climate Action Plan that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The award of this grant is recognition of the significant leadership Dane County has demonstrated in addressing climate change challenges," said County Board Supervisor Patrick Miles (McFarland). "The modeling will help ensure that our efforts are effective in mitigating our impact on the environment and are cost-effective for taxpayers."
Office of Energy and Climate Change has contracted with Sustainable Energy Economics which developed and holds the proprietary ownership of the Framework for Analysis of Climate-Energy-Technology Systems (FACETS) model. The FACETS model is an extremely powerful electric sector model that Sustainable Energy Economics is amending with transportation sector data to give Dane County the opportunity to perform geographically specific and deep analysis of mitigation actions.
Dane County Executive Parisi created the Dane County Office of Climate Change as part of his 2016 budget. The Office of Energy and Climate Change is a division within the County Executive’s Office. This office leads public and private efforts across the community to implement climate change strategies county government has embraced in recent years.
“This modeling will be a critical piece of work that will help make Dane County a national leader in the effort to protect our children’s future by reducing the adverse impacts of climate change, added Parisi.