The York River Group and the Chesapeake Bay Group hosted this roundtable jointly.
Sustainability managers and representatives from Southside Hampton Roads localities presented updates on their latest initiatives toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This included solar arrays, energy efficient building practices, electric vehicles (EVs), and EV charging stations. The localities represented were Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton, Smithfield, Suffolk, Surry, and Virginia Beach. Whitney Katchmark with Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) first summarized the plans and timeline for the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, with HRPDC as the lead for the 17 localities in the Hampton Roads area. The grant supports development of a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory and a regional climate action plan designed to reduce GHG, support clean energy generation, and ensure that low income communities will benefit.
Other speakers included Catherine Goggins, Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressman Bobby Scott on Energy Policy, Lori Herrick Borden, Environmental Manager for the City of Virginia Beach, Ryan Hersey, Environmental Manager for Virginia Beach City Schools, Kevin Hughes, City of Suffolk Deputy City Manager, Eileen Woll, Off-Shore Energy Manager of the VA Chapter Sierra Club, Megan Hale, Environmental Sustainability Manager for the Department of General Services in Norfolk, Lucy Stall, Comprehensive Planning Administrator in Chesapeake, and Tyla Matteson, on behalf of Surry, Smithfield/Franklin, and Isle of Wight. The program was rounded out by an informative talk on solar by Ruth Amundsen, founder of Norfolk Solar (providing solar panels to low-income families); and co-founder of the Hampton Roads Climate Hub website.
Here is the program recording (available for a limited time).
Katherine Hafner, environmental and climate reporter for WHRO, covered the Southside Roundtable, which was aired on All Things Considered. The story can be found on the WHRO podcast feed dated October 11, 2023: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/732821106/w-h-r-o-reports. Scroll down to “Hampton Roads officials talk climate solutions: Local leaders met at a virtual roundtable held by the Sierra Club to give updates on their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”