Collaborate Climate

Creating the first regional climate plan in Maine through a joint two-city vision.

In 2019, the Cities of Portland and South Portland committed to addressing climate change together. This partnership between two of Maine's largest cities was seen as an opportunity to share resources, align approaches for greater impact, and serve as a resource and source of inspiration for State and regional climate action in Maine.

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Over the course of 18 months, community-based organizations, businesses, and residents came together to develop a collective roadmap for climate action. The resulting plan, "One Climate Future," sets in motion a suite of actions, policies, and collaborations for building towards a shared vision of a prosperous and inclusive low-carbon future. 

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Through this process, the project team worked with the Cities and communities of Portland and South Portland to:

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• Draw on community expertise and experiences through workshops, surveys, a youth street team, and focus groups with constituent groups -- including social-justice oriented organizations, affordable housing practitioners, and working waterfront industries;

• Conduct a vulnerability assessment to better understand community vulnerability to climate hazards, such as heavier rainfall, sea level rise, and higher temperatures;

• Produce greenhouse gas emissions inventories to better understand sources of climate pollution in the cities;

• Model future emissions under a variety of policy scenarios to identify key pathways for reducing emissions;

• Partner with community advocates to co-develop specific portions of the plan as paid project partners;

• Develop a set of climate actions related to buildings, energy, transportation, waste, and community resilience;

• Create a roadmap for implementation that outlines initial steps, partners, and timelines; 

• Build partnerships and pathways to support plan implementation, ongoing climate conversations, and community action.

​See more at the One Climate Future website here.