(Host) Governor Shumlin has announced the formation of the Vermont Climate Cabinet – that’s a group of senior administration officials charged with leading the state toward reducing greenhouse emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
The cabinet is chaired by Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz, and includes leaders of a variety of other state agencies and departments.
This isn’t the first time a governor has put together a team to tackle these challenges. In 2007, Governor Jim Douglas’ Commission on Climate Change released a report full of recommendations.
Markowitz says the new climate cabinet will now be taking action on many of the recommendations from that report.
(Markowtiz) "The goal is to provide the leadership to coordinate climate change efforts across state agencies, and to engage Vermonters in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to prepare for the changes that we already see are coming."
(Host) Two of the biggest issues the cabinet plans to address are reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and from home heating.