Collaborate Climate

Developing tools for local governments and community partners to integrate climate into municipal and capital planning.

Vermont communities were looking for resources and guidance on how to address climate change and build community resilience, especially as flooding, heat, wildfires, and other climate risks continue to grow.

In response, the State of Vermont launched this project to create a set of Municipal Climate Guides that would help local governments, community organizations, residents, and regional partners work together to integrate climate into existing local planning efforts. It was important to communities that the Guides meet the needs and capacity of small and rural communities, facilitate regional collaboration and learning, draw on the lived experiences of residents, and focus on building social resilience as central to community resilience. 

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The project team worked with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Climate Action Office to: 

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• Catalog existing local planning requirements to understand where climate considerations intersect;

• Review precedent tools and programs from other States, regions, and organizations to consider a range of models;

• Draw on the experience and expertise of State agency staff, regional planning agencies, municipal staff, and community-based organizations through interviews and Advisory Group meetings;

• Develop a Social Resilience Process Guide that could be used as part of any planning process to identify strategies for building social resilience, led by people with the most direct experience with vulnerability;

• Develop a Municipal Planning Climate Guide to help communities integrate climate considerations into their long-range community vision and Municipal Plans;

• Develop a Capital Planning Climate Guide to help communities create their first capital plan and account for climate risks and energy savings in their capital program;

• Pilot the Guides through a cohort model where communities inform revisions to the Guides, learn from each other, and then serve as mentors for other communities.