ACTT’s work, in context
Over the past few weeks, in meetings, planning sessions, and in the news stories pouring out of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Dubai, the urgency of ACTT’s work demonstrating an equitable transition to renewable energy has been made glaringly clear to me.
In our 2023 Report, I wrote about the important approach ACTT brings to climate solutions. In the words of both a local solar contractor and an academic researcher engaged in studies at the national level: “No one is doing what A Climate to Thrive does.” We are pairing technical expertise with community-driven priorities to cut through the misinformation that says that we cannot have just energy transition, that we must choose between the most vulnerable and a transition off fossil fuels.
As our work demonstrates, when existing technology is applied in a community-driven manner, the transition off fossil fuels is an unparalleled opportunity to increase equity, reliability, and energy democracy alongside local control. As we pair community education and engagement (through programs like the Climate Ambassadors, the community-driven educational series, the robust community feedback process that accompanies every project, and statewide programs like Local Leads the Way) with highly nuanced technical solutions (such as cooperative solar, the recent Department of Energy grant application for a microgrid-based, resilience hub proposed for the Town of Tremont, or the island-wide planning process underway), we build an irrefutable case for the incredible benefits for all within a community-driven energy transition.
We need this example more than ever as we approach the discussions and decisions ahead. As I have written before, as the impacts of a changed climate are experienced with increasing frequency and harshness, I fear that the need to “do something quickly!” about climate change will cause us to ignore nuanced solutions rooted in equity and justice. I am concerned about an atmosphere of fear in which capitalist interests can easily switch gears from climate denial or arguing that transitioning off fossil fuels will exacerbate inequity to capitalizing on the need for fast action through solutions that do little to maximize the opportunities that exist within a just transition to renewable energy.
And so we prepare for our work in 2024 with an ever-deepening understanding of the critical nature of what we are doing here on Mount Desert Island and our work sharing this model with communities throughout Maine and beyond. This balance of on-the-ground implementation work and resource-sharing requires a robust team. We are grateful to everyone who has supported our year-end fundraising campaign, as the success of this campaign directly impacts our ability to continue to cultivate and share community-driven climate solutions rooted in nuanced, technical expertise. You can read more about the campaign and contribute at aclimatetothrive.org/donate.
In closing, I share a few examples from the past weeks that illuminate the essential nature of ACTT’s work. Thank you again for making this work possible.
The United Nations 28th Conference of the Parties (COP)
As those who have been following the COP conference in Dubai know all too well, the conference was dominated by an intense battle over whether the resulting deal would urge either a phase-out of fossil fuels, a transition away from fossil fuels, or no specific language calling for a move away from fossil fuels. In the end, the deal struck called for a transition away from fossil fuels.
While the official recognition that we need to “transition away from fossil fuels” in a COP text is a historical achievement, it is also insufficient to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which was supposed to be a guiding north star for much of the conference. Furthermore, and importantly, the deal provides zero substance to ensure that the transition away from fossil fuels is fast, fair, and financed. While countries now need to report progress in the transition, that progress is measured against vague goals of “net-zero by 2050” (watch our educational event “Real Zero vs. Net Zero” for some context) instead of alignment with keeping warming below 1.5 degrees. The text ignores the historic responsibility of developed countries by not calling on these countries to lead the transition. And the text does not outline clear financing pathways to support developing countries within the transition. (Follow COA's [Earth] on instagram for great coverage of the COP conference through a climate justice lens! And watch for a collaborative educational event between [Earth] and ACTT in the new year, exploring historic responsibility in international climate action.)
The arguments made against a phase-out of fossil fuels (most often by fossil fuels interests themselves) echo arguments we hear our utilities make here in Maine when accelerated renewable energy build-out is being discussed: phase-out will negatively impact already vulnerable communities around the world who have not yet benefited from development associated with fossil fuels. This is a false argument and one of the most powerful tools to prove that fallibility are studies that demonstrate the benefits of renewable energy when applied through a conscious process that is both dedicated and equitable. While Mount Desert Island is clearly a far cry from a developing country, every time communities show that distributed, locally-owned renewable energy generation strengthens reliability and is highly beneficial economically, particularly when applied through a community-driven process that places equity as a top priority, that example helps demonstrate that a transition off fossil fuels is the best pathway forward for all.
ACTT’s Manager of Renewable Energy Planning and Policy visits the Maine Delegation in Washington, D.C.
Last week, Beth Woolfolk, our Manager of Renewable Energy Planning and Policy spent two days in Washington, D.C., along with representation from the Island Institute, meeting with the Maine delegation and the Department of Energy. A common theme in those meetings was the interest many Maine municipalities have in energy solutions but the lack of capacity, particularly in smaller municipalities, to ensure those solutions unfold in a manner that truly addresses local priorities. This further illustrates the importance of the model we are building on MDI and our work sharing that model through programs like Local Leads the Way and the AmeriCorps program currently being designed, focused on training and placing fellows to support community-driven energy solutions in rural and energy justice communities in Maine.
Maine’s Integrated Grid Planning Process
Over the past several weeks, ACTT has participated in five sessions at the Maine Public Utilties Commission, all part of the current integrated grid planning process. As far as I could tell, we were one of the only - if not the only - stakeholder of our type in these meeting: a stakeholder with intimate knowledge of how these solutions play out at the level of local communities and how renewable energy solutions can address issues of inequity and energy justice, if applied in a community-driven manner. This lack of community attendance is not surprising: the MPUC processes are incredibly challenging to track, access, and understand.
As issues of equity were discussed, a common dichotomy emerged: how would the planning process weigh addressing climate change against issues of equity and affordable rates? It was disappointing to see the conversation dominated by this old, misinformed argument that climate solutions come at the expense of vulnerable populations. A state’s integrated grid planning process is exactly the place where we want to see our leaders celebrating the opportunity within energy solutions to simultaneously address climate change as well as issues of inequity, high rates, and poor reliability and resilience.
ACTT is dedicated to bringing that visionary lens to the grid planning process. However, we are also concerned, as we listen to the MPUC discuss the need for stakeholder and community feedback. Engaging communities in a way that is both accessible and not influenced by utility priorities has not been a historic strongpoint for public utility commissions. For this reason, in debriefing the integrated grid planning sessions, our energy team also focused on ACTT's role in providing educational resources and helping other communities access the MPUC planning process while also sharing out examples of the intersection between climate solutions and opportunities to increase local energy equity and resilience.
It is a good feeling when daily activities continuously reaffirm the importance of what we are doing here at ACTT. Thank you to our wider community for making this work possible!