Portsmouth's Climate Future

Thank you for your continued support & commitment to a greener, healthier and more sustainable future!

Portsmouth's Climate Future has been adopted! 🌎

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July/August Update

Throughout July the Project Team worked hard to finalize a draft of the Climate Action Plan for review by City staff and the Sustainability Committee. The Sustainability Committee held a special work session on July 29th to review the document and provide feedback to the Project Team.  After a few more weeks spent adding final touches and responding to feedback, the Project Team submitted the final draft of Portsmouth's Climate Future to the City Council for adoption. Portsmouth's Climate Future was adopted by the City Council unanimously on August 19th, 2024.

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May/June 2024 Update

The Project Team compiled a substantial draft of the Climate Action Plan, incorporating strategies and comments from public outreach workshops throughout the previous year. The Planning Department completed reviews of draft strategies with other City Departments, and the Project Team adjusted strategies to reflect existing ongoing programs at other Departments. The Project Team delivered a draft of the Climate Action Plan to the Planning Department for internal comment and review in June.

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March/April 2024 Update

Through March and April, the project team focused efforts on developing the Climate Action Plan Report. The report integrates feedback from the three public meetings, surveys, and Climate Ambassadors who have been attending public events and workshops throughout the City to advocate for feedback on the Climate Action Plan strategies. The City’s Planning Department also distributed the CAP mitigation and adaptation strategies, along with proposed Net Zero goals to all City department heads to solicit review and feedback. Feedback that was received indicated an agreement over many strategies and support for action amongst the City departments and within the community.

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January/February 2024 Update

The project team held a third public workshop on February 6th in the Portsmouth City Hall Council Chambers. During this meeting, the team presented initial greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for both community activities and municipal operations, which are relative to the City’s 2018 GHG inventory. During the workshop, participants were able to hold group discussions on the targets as well as on the proposed mitigation and adaptation measures. They were tasked by the planning team to identify opportunities and barriers to implementation, relevant stakeholders, and unforeseen consequences to disadvantaged communities. Those who could not attend the workshop in person were able to complete an online survey, which was open for two weeks after the workshop. The project team is now working to revise and compile the GHG reduction targets, mitigation and reduction measures, and public feedback into a complete draft Climate Action Plan for review, expected in the spring.

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November/December 2023 Update

The Project Team met in late November and early December to review project progress, schedules, and updated emissions forecasting results. The consultant team provided updated adaptation strategies and strategies potentially requiring capital improvements to the Sustainability Committee for their December 21 meeting. The team will provide a brief fact sheet for public distribution in January while a complete draft of the Climate Action Plan is being prepared. A third public workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, February 6 in the Council Chambers at City Hall where the team will host a conversation around the emission projections, major takeaways, and opportunities for implementation. An event celebrating the complete CAP is expected to be scheduled for the spring.

Local November Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Events:

November 27 - Community Conversation on Health & the Changing Climate (Portsmouth Climate Action)

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October 2023 Update

In October, the Project Team reviewed public feedback received to date, incorporating public review into the list of climate change mitigation strategies. This public feedback on the most impactful (highest GHG reductions and/or highest cost to implement) mitigation strategies will form an important basis of the climate action plan. Public input included critical knowledge highlighting local zoning, infrastructure, and energy needs, strengthening local policies and initiatives to promote climate mitigation.

Working with the Rockingham Planning Commission, the Project Team received results from newly-updated models of transportation demand and population estimates for the year 2035, estimates which will be used in developing the City’s Business-As-Usual estimates. Finally, working with local and regional experts in their fields, the Project Team began development of adaptation strategies which will become a roadmap for resiliency within the City.

Local October Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Events:

October 18 - Clean Energy NH Circuit: Seacoast Edition @ Music Hall Lounge

October 21 - Project Upcycle Runway Event @ 3S Artspace

October 22 - Drive Electric Portsmouth @ Bridge Street Parking Lot 

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Thank you to everyone that came out for our community discussion at Liars Bench!

Be on the lookout for announcements of more community discussions and CAP workshops as we draw closer to the release of the CAP.

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At this time, our consultant team is reviewing all feedback and finalizing our list of strategies. Check back soon for updates!

Interested in looking at the draft Climate Action Plan strategies? Find a total list of draft strategies here and in the sidebar on the right.

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September 2023 Update

In collaboration with the City’s consultant team of VHB, Resilience Planning & Design, and the Rockingham Planning Commission, the Project Team held our most recent public workshop on July 31st. A preliminary inventory of climate change mitigation strategies was presented and participants were given the opportunity to provide their comments and feedback, as well as suggest priorities for implementation. Post-workshop, working with the volunteer Climate Ambassadors, the City continued to collect public feedback to help further inform strategy development and prioritization. The consultant team has since refined the inventory of strategies to call attention to those with the greatest impact potential (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions reduction) and highest costs. The City is keenly interested in receiving pubic feedback on these strategies through the EasyRetro tool. All strategies under consideration have been posted to the Portsmouth’s Climate Future website.

Lastly, the City has been working closely with the Rockingham Planning Commission to update regional transportation and population models. These models will provide results critical for forecasting future greenhouse gas emissions under a Business-As-Usual scenario.

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As a coastal community with climate hazards becoming ever more present, the City of Portsmouth is engaging its community and other stakeholders in developing “Portsmouth’s Climate Future.” This effort will culminate in an Action Plan that will identify and phase targeted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, avoidance, and removals at the municipal and community levels, while simultaneously identifying effective adaptation measures to make the City more resilient against future climate change impacts. With much of the City’s most treasured resources and many infrastructure assets located along its historic waterfront and directly vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge, there is no time to wait. Portsmouth’s Climate Future will not only define and prioritize the actions needed from City staff and leadership, but will also call upon all those who live, work, and play in Portsmouth to make meaningful commitments to ensure it becomes a more climate friendly and resilient community for generations to come.