The top floor of the Davis Center was a hive of activity on Nov. 18 as 55 members of the Vermont House and Senate and 11 state agency representatives rubbed elbows and exchanged ideas with more than 50 University of Vermont faculty and a half dozen administrative leaders. The occasion was the second annual UVM Legislative Summit, which this year focused on climate change.The goal of the legislative summits -- the topic of last year’s inaugural event was education -- is for UVM faculty to share their expertise with decision-makers to help them create informed policy for the state.

The day was packed full, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In the morning and afternoon, legislators participated in four hour-long round-table discussions, choosing from 20 possible sessions, which featured 15-minute presentations by a faculty member and a state agency representative followed by 30 minutes of discussion.

Sessions included "Overview of the Vermont Climate Assessment," with Gund Institute fellow and Rubenstein School research assistant professor Gillian Galford and Agency of Natural Resources secretary Deb Markowitz; "The Rising Risk of Flood Events from Climate Change," with Arne Bomblies, civil and environmental engineering assistant professor, and Rob Evans, river corridor and floodplain manager at the Department of Environmental Conservation; and "Land Use: Climate Change Best Management Practices, Green Infrastructure & Smart Growth," with Stephanie Hurley, Plant and Soil Sciences assistant professor, and Chris Cochran, director of Community Planning & Revitalization in the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development. Galford, lead author of the Vermont Climate Assessment and an instrumental contributor to the summit, also led three other roundtable discussion on aspects of the report. 

At midday participants heard a keynote address titled "Policy, Governance & Human Behavior: Responding to the Climate Change Crisis” by CDAE professor and Gund fellow Asim Zia. Vice president for research Richard Galbraith kicked off the day with a roundup presentation on faculty research at UVM focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation. President Tom Sullivan and Provost David Rosowsky also made remarks.  

"Today’s summit highlights the wealth of resources we have at UVM to share with our partners in the state legislature," Sullivan said. "Together we can set the trends for progress and create exciting solutions for the state and the nation. By working together, we can leverage the deep knowledge, experience and long-term data gathered by UVM researchers to further benefit the people of Vermont and to advance this state.”

Legislators and agency representatives were bullish on the day. 

"The global crisis of climate change demands both action and introspection,” said Speaker of the House Shap Smith. “This summit provides opportunities for both. I'm pleased with the collaborative spirit of the breakout sessions and the chance to partner with the University of Vermont and other stakeholders to discuss policy pathways for a prosperous future."

“This is a great way to leverage the intellectual resources of the university for public policy makers, and I really appreciate that being part of the mission of the university,” said Secretary Markowitz. “In every area of public policy, having this sort of the best thinking available to us will make a difference.”

“In terms of the quality of the faculty presentations and the interest of the legislature, there's a real desire to make the connections and the collaboration,” said Anne O’Brien, a longtime member of the House of Representatives and a UVM trustee who played a key role in organizing the event event in the legislature. “I think that we have a lot of good energy around it. It's great.”

“This is even better than I imagined,” said Tony Klein, chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy committee. “There are a lot of people here, and a lot information being presented we haven’t heard before, a lot of different ways of looking at the impacts, all under one roof. The connection between policymakers and the academics is important.”        

CDAE professor Chris Koliba, who organized faculty participation in the summit, said that sharing faculty expertise with motivated policy-makers provides “an opportunity in the state to do something comprehensive in terms of climate action planning. My hope personally is that we harness our energies to do that.”

Graduate students took notes on all the presentations, Koliba said. The notes will be synthesized into policy briefs for legislators and agency personnel.