Dane County Exec Unveils Council on Climate Change

Clean Wisconsin cheered Dane County Executive Joe Parisi’s bold and progressive plan to curb climate change.

Parisi unveiled the first initiatives of his 2017 budget proposal on Sept. 22. Parisi’s plan includes aggressive climate initiatives that triple Dane County’s production of solar power, create a new Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change, a new Council on Climate Change to coordinate the community’s work to reduce carbon emissions, and accelerates the county’s conversion of snow plows and other fossil fuel-burning vehicles to cleaner burning, renewable compressed natural gas.

Clean Wisconsin has long worked with area utilities, businesses, and other non-governmental organizations to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy solutions. Clean Wisconsin President and CEO Mark Redsten said the organization looks forward to collaborating with Dane County on new climate strategies.

“Thanks to Executive Parisi’s leadership, Dane County is poised to be Wisconsin’s leader in addressing climate change, the greatest environmental threat of this century,” Redsten said.

Dane County’s leadership in addressing climate change is especially important now. The state of Wisconsin has missed out on opportunities to invest in local solutions to climate change in a way that creates jobs, reduces energy bills, and reduces carbon emissions.

“Executive Parisi clearly understands the environmental and economic impacts of climate change to this community, and he is providing important solutions,” Redsten said.