Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui Announces Cambridge Climate Month with the Release of the Climate Crisis Working Group Report

The Office of Mayor Siddiqui has announced that April will be Climate Month in Cambridge, with a focus on the City’s climate actions and goals. Last fall, Mayor Siddiqui convened a Climate Crisis Working Group (CCWG) and named Councillor Patty Nolan as chair, and the report that was written by that group will be on tonight's City Council agenda. The report includes actions that Cambridge can take to spur meaningful change as the climate crisis grows more urgent each day. The CCWG members drew ideas from cities across the globe to determine steps that Cambridge can and should be taking. All meetings and documents from the CCWG are publicly available and can be found here.

“The Climate Crisis Working Group Report captured the urgency of the moment and we must build upon the policy recommendations if we are going to hit our climate goals,” said Mayor Siddiqui. “The month of April will be a chance to highlight climate action and move this agenda forward.”

The world needs a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid major disruptions to our climate and health, and Cambridge must be a leader in that effort. In addition to taking actions laid out in the report, the Mayor’s Office will celebrate Climate Month by hosting events and drawing awareness to the ways Cambridge is already combating the climate crisis.

Councillor Nolan, who Chaired the CCWG, added, “Cambridge, like the entire world, needs to act like the climate crisis is the emergency we claim it is. I look forward to implementing the recommendations from the report and moving forward with more urgency and effectiveness.”

Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, a CCWG Member and Assistant Professor at Harvard Kennedy School, also added, “This report presents actionable ideas that should be implemented into policy and built upon rather than watered-down. Notably, Cambridge needs a robust plan for communication around these policies – to ensure the community understands both the substantial benefits and some of the immediate-term costs articulated in this report – if we are to meet the urgency of this challenge."

The next step is for this report to be sent to the Health and Environment Committee to build on the recommendations.

Mayor Siddiqui is looking forward to seeing Cambridge residents at Climate Month events throughout April. Upcoming events include: 

• Charles River Cleanup: On Friday, April 22nd from 9:00-12:00pm, Elevate Youth and the Mayor’s Office are planning a Charles River cleanup. Please feel free to join us at Weeks Bridge on Memorial Drive to help pick up trash. Please wear long sleeves and long pants. Personal protective equipment will be provided by Elevate Youth.

• Mayor’s Bike Bonanza: On Saturday April 23rd at 12pm join the Mayor's Office for a Bike Bonanza to support local small businesses and enjoy the spring in the City by bike! Bring your own bike (but if you don't have one, we can hook you up!). We'll start off with tacos on the Mayor, proceed along Riverbend Park, and then stop by three other small businesses. You'll be encouraged but not obligated to make a small purchase at each stop to support the business we tour on this 6 mile circuit, on entirely protected bike lanes. RSVP here. 

• Jerry’s Pond Earth Day Festival: Join Friends of Jerry's Pond on April 24th from 1:30-5:00pm for our sixth annual Earth Day Festival, co-sponsored by IQHQ, Alewife Study Group, Mass Audubon, Green Cambridge, Just-A-Start, Devine Native Planting and Mayor Siddiqui’s Office. Join for art-making activities, invasives wrangling, native garden weeding, some clean-up, Audubon wildlife handling and entertainment by Bengali dancers, a honk band and an ice cream truck!

For more information, please reach out to Subu Karmacharya, Community Outreach Manager, at skarmacharya@cambridgema.gov.