Climate Fast Forward – Agenda | wisconsinacademy.org
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Climate Fast Forward – Agenda

Agenda*

7:00-8:00 am: Registration & Breakfast

8:00-8:30 am: Welcome from Host Community, Wisconsin Academy & Partners

  • Jane Elder, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
  • Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, City of Madison
  • Chancellor Rebecca Blank, UW-Madison

8:30-9:15 am: What do we know; How do we see the world; So what?Moderated by Jane Elder

9:15-10:15 am: How Change HappensModerated by Chelsea Chandler

10:15-10:45 am Break           

10:45 am-12:15 pm: Breakout I: 5 Tracks (see descriptions below)

1. Energy Generation (download PDF discussion guide)
•  Team leads: Gary Radloff (The Radloff Group) & Keith Reopelle (Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change)

2. Energy Use (download PDF discussion guide)
•  Team leads: Robin Lisowski (Slipstream) & Peter Skopec (WISPIRG)

3. Resilience & Adaptation (download PDF discussion guide)
•  Team leads: Nadia Vogt (Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District) & Matt Mitro (WI DNR)

4. Natural Carbon Sinks (download PDF discussion guide)
•  Team leads: Fred Clark (Wisconsin’s Green Fire) & Diane Mayerfeld (UW Extension)

5. Governance (download PDF discussion guide)
•  Curt Meine (Aldo Leopold Foundation) & Lauren Azar (Azar Law)

12:15-1:30 pm: Lunch & Networking

1:30-3:00 pm: Breakout II: 5 Tracks (see descriptions below)

  1. Energy Generation
  2. Energy Use
  3. Resilience & Adaptation
  4. Natural Carbon Sinks
  5. Governance

3:00-3:30 pm: Break

3:30-4:45 pm: Plenary DebriefModerated by Jane Elder

  • Recommendations by Breakout Team Leads (download PDF presentation)
  • Paul Robbins, UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
  • Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, State of Wisconsin

4:45-5:00 pm: Closing Remarks

  • Jane Elder
  • Robin Chapman, UW-Madison (professor emerita)

5:00-6:30 pm: Reception

*(We will be adding speaker information as they are scheduled.)

 

Conference Tracks

The conference will explore Wisconsin climate challenges and solutions through several lenses. Three tracks will explore ways to reduce our emissions and overall carbon footprint; one will explore needs and strategies related to adaptation and resilience, and one will look at specific needs within government structures and processes to pursue more nimble and responsive practices. Each track will be focused by a framing question and a brief analysis of the challenges and opportunities. The participants within each track will work together to develop recommended actions for Wisconsin to pursue over the next decade, and to identify three top priorities to share with the full conference in its final plenary session.

 

Track 1:  What are the priority actions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Wisconsin through energy generation?

Although there have been recent gains in renewable energy, Wisconsin remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels for much of its electrical generation. This track will focus on the ways Wisconsin generates energy and the best opportunities for significant CO2 emission reduction over the next decade. Likely topics for small group discussions within the track include: ensuring clean energy equity & justice, energy storage, electrifying heating & cooling, solar siting, distributed energy resources, how to balance incremental policy steps or bold system redesign, and how to give local government real power in energy services & policy.

(Click here to download the Track 1 White Paper PDF

Track 2: What are the priority actions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Wisconsin through energy use?

Efficiency is often described as the low-hanging fruit in emission reduction, but efficiency is sometimes constrained by existing design, incremental progress, lack of incentives, or complex decision-making processes. This track will focus on reducing emissions through energy efficiency, conservation, design and the built environment, and transportation. Likely topics for small group discussions within the track include: approaching land use reform, discussing “car culture,” promoting alternatives to driving, and untapped potential of energy efficiency & strategies to scale up residential, commercial & industrial buildings.

(Click here to download the Track 2 White Paper PDF)

Track 3: How do we rapidly gear up resilience and adaptation capacity in Wisconsin?

As our Wisconsin climate continues to change we are experiencing more negative impacts from extreme weather and overall warming. These include catastrophic flooding, crop loss, invasive pest species, human health impacts, and more. What’s the plan going forward to help us adapt and maximize our capacity to be resilient? This track will focus on the key elements of a proactive “game plan” for resilience that goes beyond survival and emergency response. Likely topics for small group discussions within this track include: planning for extreme weather events including flooding, safeguarding human health, agricultural resilience,and maximizing resilience for at-risk species & habitat.

(Click here to download the Track 3 White Paper PDF)

Track 4: How do we optimize natural carbon sinks in Wisconsin?

Healthy soils and forests are natural carbon sinks. The forests of the northern Great Lakes region are a nationally important carbon sink, and there is also notable carbon sequestration potential in Wisconsin’s agricultural lands, prairies, and wetlands. However, forest management is fragmented across various types of ownership, and various soil types and cultivation practices can limit the carbon storage potential of soils. What steps can Wisconsin take to identify, safeguard, and incentivize these natural carbon-storing assets in the Wisconsin landscape? Likely topics for small group discussion within this track include: forestry strategies for carbon storage, monetizing/incentivizing agricultural carbon storage to support rural economies, managing prairies & wetlands for optimal carbon sequestration, promoting urban forests, and identifying best practices for co-benefits (e.g., water quality & carbon storage) in agricultural land management.

(Click here to download the Track 4 White Paper PDF)

Track 5: What governance systems do we need to leverage or change to advance solutions in Wisconsin?

With the increasing threats and shrinking timeline for action, where do we need to re-think government structures and systems in Wisconsin that pose barriers to responsive and nimble decision-making for clean energy, climate resilience, and environmental protection? What might new approaches look like? Likely topics for small group discussion within this track include: actions needed at the state level, actions needed at the local/municipal/county level, actions involving Wisconsin’s tribal communities, actions involving the UW System & the educational system more broadly, and actions involving non-governmental organizations & the private sector. 

(Click here to download the Track 5 White Paper PDF)

 

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