Zero Carbon Britain before Zero Carbon Vermont?

Image by climatesafety via Flickr

I’m jealous. I know it’s not becoming, but I can’t help it. We’ve been outdone not once, but twice. As a firm believer in the theory you’ll never get there if you don’t set a stretch goal, a BHAG, it’s inspiring but galling to find out from Alex Steffen and Amanda Reed that Britain has reaffirmed its goal of becoming Zero Carbon by 2030 (ZCB2030). Seattle, Washington has declared the same goal.

ZCB2030 report
The ZCB2030 report has a time line for implementation, five detailed sections, and a complete bibliography at the end of each major section of the report. It’s a tremendous resource. The report’s authors intend to demonstrate that “Britain has the potential to become a global leader in sustainable technology and policy” — that climate action is an economic development strategy— and spur discussion and debate on how “greenhouse gas emissions could be completely eliminated from a developed society.”

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Renewable Energy Vermont and others have been singing this song for years – seemingly to little effect.

Rural versus Urban
After commending the report, Steffen and Reed point out: “There are some major flaws and questionable assumptions in the report. One flaw is that it almost completely ignores urban issues, concentrating on green building and transportation, but ignoring planning, infrastructure and the role of services in a bright green city.” While I appreciate the fact that for the first time the majority of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, we should not forget nearly half still live in rural areas like Vermont.

A Question for Vermont Gubernatorial Candidates

: Image by climatesafety via Flickr

It is exactly the focus on green building and transportation in this report that holds such promise for a rural state like Vermont. The Vermont Governor’s Commission on Climate Change came to the same conclusion, but Governor Douglas ignored its recommendations. The ZCB2030 report outlines a time line and action plan for an entire country. When can Vermont announce its zero-carbon goal and related economic plan?

It’s a question to be asked of each of our gubernatorial candidates.