We have a lot of work to do by 2025 to bend the curve and achieve our commitments. That is why we want to hear your pitch for promising opportunities to help Vermont transition to renewable energy and reduce emissions, especially in the transportation and thermal sectors and especially with public policy, public engagement, and workforce development/workforce transition strategies. Pitch topics could be new policies or regulations, programmatic ideas, proof-of-concept pilot projects, or something else.
Selected proposals will be invited to present at the EAN 2019 Network Summit on Thursday, September 26th at Champlain College in Burlington. The length of the presentation will be determined by the number of pitches we select, but assume there will be a short (5-10 minute) presentation, possibly followed by a brief Q&A or panel discussion. If appropriate, selected proposals will also be eligible for seed funding via EAN.
Please submit your pitch by completing the form below or by downloading this PDF of the form and emailing it to jduval@eanvt.org by 8 AM on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, with the subject line “2019 Summit Pitch.” A selection committee will review all proposals. Notification for the selected pitches will come by September 11, 2019.
Context
The Energy Action Network and the State of Vermont share a commitment: to meet 90% of our energy needs through increased efficiency and renewables by 2050 and to significantly reduce Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions. Whether your motivation for this work comes from a place of economic opportunity, moral responsibility, or something else, achieving a just, thriving, and sustainable energy transition is one of the great challenges and opportunities of our time.
As of 2019, Vermont has made mixed progress. While we’re at 19% renewable energy use overall, our emissions have increased 16% since 1990 and we are far away from both our total energy and our emissions reduction commitments. Vermont’s nearest term climate goal is the Paris Climate Agreement, which requires at least a 26% reduction in GHG emissions below 2005 levels by 2025. As of the most recent data, Vermont was only 2% below 2005 emissions levels.
The primary roadblocks to our energy and emissions progress are continued fossil fuel use in the Transportation and Thermal sectors. While the electric sector was 63% renewable as of 2017, the Transportation and Thermal sectors were only 5% and 19% renewable, respectively. Together, those two sectors are responsible for over 70% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, a recent systems analysis conducted as part of EAN’s Vermont Energy Future Initiative makes clear that Vermont needs more effective interventions in the following areas, in particular: policy and regulatory reform; public engagement, and workforce development/workforce transition.
Pitch Selection Criteria
EAN’s mission is to achieve Vermont’s 90% renewable by 2050 total energy commitment and to significantly reduce Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions in ways that create a more just, thriving, and sustainable future for Vermonters.
With that mission in mind, we are seeking strategic interventions in the energy system that will:
- Provide significant reductions in fossil fuel use and GHG pollution from energy, particularly focusing on the thermal and transportation sectors
- Encourage growth in the number of clean energy jobs in Vermont
- Help Vermonters become more energy-secure and resilient
- Create a stronger and more just Vermont economy
- Support an energy landscape that both benefits from and protects our natural resources and working lands
EAN approaches our work together through five strategic leverage areas to enable systemic change at a scale and pace necessary to achieve Vermont’s energy & emissions commitments:
- Policy & Regulatory Reform
- Public Engagement
- Workforce Development/Workforce Transition
- Technology Innovation
- Capital Mobilization