COVER STORY
Worcester’s green plan to prepare for climate change VEER MUDAMBI
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Worcester residents respond to the COVID crisis, he now feels even better about the GWP’s long-term success. “We had an amazing local response to the pandemic, a lot of people have worked very hard to keep people as safe as possible,” he said. “Worcester is capable of getting together and making significant
improvements and we think that can translate well to the climate crisis.” Preparing for a second crisis in the midst of the first one is not an ideal situation, but science tells us that cities like Worcester will face serious climate-related challenges unless they take steps to adapt.
Over the last year and a half, Worcester city officials have been doing just that — preparing for another crisis. By designing a broad initiative called the Green Worcester Plan, Worcester officials aim to make progress on two objectives: to significantly reduce the city’s overall carbon emissions as well as
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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
N O V E M B E R 12 - 18, 2020
he Green Worcester Plan, which outlines steps toward making the city both more energy sustainable and climate resilient, was intended to have a thematic unveiling on April 22, Earth Day 2020. Because
of COVID-related delays, however, a draft of the plan was made available for public comment on Oct. 27. While COVID-19 may have derailed the plan’s dramatic reveal, John Odell, head of Worcester’s Department of Energy and Asset Management, has actually found it a reason to be optimistic. After seeing
John Odell, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Manager, outside of Sullivan Middle School, where solar panels are in use. CREDIT
