City of Portsmouth Invites the Community to the Climate Action Plan Kickoff Forum on May 4, 2023

The City of Portsmouth Planning & Sustainability Department launched an initiative to create a Climate Action Plan for the City in 2022. Earlier this year they selected the partnership of VHB, Resilience Planning & Design, LLC, and the Rockingham Planning Commission to guide the plan. The team is now working across all City Departments and with the community and other stakeholders to identify short-, medium- and long-term strategies for “Portsmouth’s Climate Future” – the Climate Action Plan that will define how the City addresses, mitigates, and adapts to ongoing and future climate change impacts in an effective and equitable manner.

The public is invited to the Portsmouth Climate Action Plan Kickoff event, a Community Forum, on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at City Hall in the Eileen Dondero Foley Council Chambers, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

The goal of the forum is to encourage a dialogue to explore existing conditions, challenges, community values, the natural environment, the City’s role as an Eco-Municipality and how the community interacts with the natural environment. This is the first of several planned community engagement initiatives.

“With many of the City’s most treasured resources and infrastructure assets located along its historic waterfront and directly vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge, there is no time to wait,” said Peter Britz, City Director of the Planning and Sustainability Department. “The plan, ‘Portsmouth’s Climate Future,’ will not only define and prioritize the actions needed from City staff and leadership, but will also call upon all those who live, work, and play in Portsmouth to make meaningful commitments to ensure this becomes a more climate friendly and resilient community for generations to come.”

The Climate Action Plan will serve as the foundation for all climate adaptation projects and goals for the next 50 years. The team is working to align the City’s existing Coastal Resiliency Initiative (CRI) with new adaptation efforts to create systems for benchmarking, policy evaluation and tracking progress. They are also collaborating with groups who are establishing sustainability efforts within the community, including the Blue Ribbon Committee on Sustainable Practices, Portsmouth Climate Solutions, Portsmouth High School Eco Club, Seacoast Students for Sustainability and the City’s Governance Committee.

For more information, go to volunteer to be a climate ambassador, please visit or contact Kate Homet, Associate Environmental Planner in the City’s Planning & Sustainability Department at kehomet@cityofportsmouth.com.