In 2007, the Environmental Commissioners and Directors from the New England States challenged NEWMOA and the air and water interstates to identify regional activities to address climate change. As a result of this challenge, the NEWMOA Board of Directors developed a 2009 Climate-Waste Action Plan [PDF]. The Plan presents a strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change through improving waste prevention and recycling initiatives, increasing renewable energy on contaminated sites, implementing "greener" site remediation, and improving management and recycling of disaster debris. The Plan is intended to provide a framework for regional initiatives to advance shared goals; however it recognizes that not all states may be in a position to move forward on all of them.

NEWMOA's overall Climate-Waste Action Plan goals are to:

• Assist Northeast states in achieving their greenhouse gas reduction goals by supporting and helping states implement programs that mitigate the climate, energy, and overall environmental impacts of products and materials use, waste generation, waste management, and site remediation; and
• Promote effective prevention and management strategies to assist states in adapting to the impacts of a warmer climate in the near term.

Through the Action Plan, the NEWMOA-member state programs commit to sharing information, conducting research, discussing and developing joint policy actions, coordinating implementation of programs, and conducting needed training and capacity building to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

For more information, contact Terri Goldberg at .