For the first time ever, the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative is offering an in-person climate conference for free.
CAI’s Gilda Geist spoke to Dorothy Savarese, president of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, to learn more about what we can expect from the Net Zero 2024 conference on October 24.
Gilda Geist This is going to be the sixth Net Zero conference put on by the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative. Can you give us a brief overview of what the day is going to look like?
Dorothy Savarese It's at the Hyport Conference Center at the Emerald Resort, and our theme for this year is: “Climate Actions for Everyone: reducing emissions and building resilience.” So it's really a solutions-focused conference.
We'll start registration at 8:00 AM. It'll run until 3:00 PM. We'll have a plenary session filled with panels on everything from the Massachusetts Housing and Climate Innovation Center to planning for coastal resilience—which, as we all know, especially after Helene and now Milton, is so incredibly critical.
There will be a panel of local folks on electrifying transportation, and then there's going to be a resource panel called “What Can I Do?” And it's actions that individuals and businesses and nonprofits can all take. And then in the afternoon, there will be breakout sessions for local climate action planning. It is free this year, and there's a free box lunch in the middle of the day.
GG Is this the first year that the conference is going to be free?
DS It was virtual for the last two years, but before that, you did have to pay. And so, because of the generosity of our sponsors, we're able to actually do it without an admission fee. And this is part of our commitment to environmental justice and climate justice. It's also why we wanted a location that was very central to the Cape and accessible to public transportation. We want this to be a very inclusive conference.
GG The Mashpee and Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribes, of course, have thousands of years of experience living on the Cape and using resources without overexploiting them. How has the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative worked to include Indigenous knowledge in this year's conference?
DS Until recently, Gail Melix from the [Herring Pond Wampanoag] Tribe was a member of our advisory council. Unfortunately, because of other commitments, she had to withdraw. But it is our desire to continue expanding our understanding of the deep knowledge that the Wampanoag have and the relationship with nature and with the climate from which we can learn so much.
Now, we do have a representative from UMass Boston who is talking about coastal resilience. But one of his colleagues is actually undertaking a project with a local tribe relative to coastal resilience. We are hoping to engage more with both the tribe and with UMass Boston in terms of learning more about that project and how we can become involved.
GG We often hear about these big international climate conferences like the Conference of Parties. Can you talk a little bit about the value of having a climate conference on a smaller community scale, like this one?
DS It is important for folks to follow all of the national and international climate conferences, including the Conference of Parties, and follow what the United Nations is doing and advocate aggressively for appropriate climate action.
But there are also things that are going on locally that we can do that businesses, individuals, nonprofit organizations and municipalities can all get involved in. And some of that is the urgency of building adaptation and resilience to the impacts of climate change locally. As we have seen recently, that's very important—being prepared, making decisions locally, doing that planning. In addition, we as individuals, businesses, organizations all feel how important it is for us to reduce the emissions in the way we're contributing.
Those who wish to attend can register online in advance. The event is free but space is limited.
