Title: LCAP Cohort 1 (Henry County, VA/Danville, VA/Martinsville, VA)
About:
In Spring 2023, as part of a GMU Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) grant, CESP partnered with the Virginia Climate Center (VCC) and the Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) to complete greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and climate action plans (CAPs) working collaboratively with a cohort of rural Virginia communities based in Southcentral Virginia. As with CESP’s work with Manassas City, Phase 1 included the development of community-wide GHG Inventories. Those were completed as part of a new course funded through GMU’s Curriculum Impact Grant (CIG) called “Climate Action Planning”, a cross-listed course consisting of undergraduate and graduate students (GOVT 490/POGO 550). Students worked closely with public officials and local service providers to complete these inventories as part of their final course assignment. Again, partnering with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA, students learned how to use the Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions-Compliant ClearPath tool to complete this work. The respective GHG inventories are included below.
Phase 1: Greenhouse Gas Inventory (Completed December 2023)
Henry County, VA – 2022 Community Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Martinsville, VA – 2023 Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Danville, VA – 2022 Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Phase 2: Climate Action Plan
Henry County Energy Action Plan
City of Martinsville Energy Action Plan
City of Danville Energy Action Plan
Manassas City, VA
About:
In August 2021, George Mason University (Mason) contacted officials in Manassas City, VA (City) about a potential pilot project involving climate action planning for the City. After several meetings, Mason decided to self-fund the project with funding from the Schar School’s Center for Energy Science and Policy. Mason selected ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA to help guide both Mason and the City through the process. ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) has over 30 years of experience working with local jurisdictions and schools in developing local climate action plans. The City provided two employees to work with Mason. Mason began the project with two faculty members and two students.
In September 2021, both Mason and the City began the project. Mason and the City signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide the process, which was finalized in December 2021.
Within Mason, the Schar’s Center for Energy Science and Policy (Center) led efforts, with assistance from Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, to organize faculty and student involvement in the project. In addition, Mason conducted outreach to local Virginia planning organizations throughout the Commonwealth. The Center conducted further outreach and education with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Department of Energy (formerly Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy), Virginia Governor’s Secretary of Natural Resources, and Virginia Municipal League, among other organizations.
The project involves three phases: (1) Greenhouse Gas Inventory; (2) Climate Action & Sustainability Planning; and (3) Project Implementation. In October 2021, Mason, the City, and ICLEI began phase I. This phase involves developing an emissions inventory of greenhouse gases for the City’s governmental operations.
Phase 1: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Completed
City of Manassas Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Local Government Operations (LGO)
City of Manassas Local Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Inventory Summary
Phase 2: Climate Action Plan
City of Manassas Climate Action Plan. To learn more about our efforts to date, please visit the Manassas City website.