MORGANTOWN — In commemoration of the 51st Earth Day, Morgantown Mayor Ron Dulaney and City Councilor Bill Kawecki were among those to offer comments Thursday during an online conference organized by the West Virginia Climate Alliance.
The speakers, which included current and former elected officials as well as representatives from various environmental groups, touched on a variety of topics, including West Virginia’s transition away from extraction industries, like coal and gas.
Dulaney said that transition has been a focus of the Marshall Plan for Middle America, through which mayors across the Ohio River Valley are asking Washington for a $60 billion investment in support of a green transition in upper Appalachia.
“We think we have a great opportunity with the Biden administration and the infrastructure bill that’s coming and we hope that we’ll be able to move our communities in a more positive direction with that,” Dulaney said, adding that significant investment in workforce development is going to be needed.
“The idea is we aren’t just pulling out and abandoning folks, but it is a transition. There does need to be the resources in place to help facilitate that … We’ve seen what’s happened to many communities in West Virginia when a company just picks up and moves.”
Kawecki said Morgantown has historically been a city in which community members are willing to step forward though bodies like the Morgantown Green Team, Morgantown Tree Board or the Mon Valley Green Space Coalition to help direct the city’s policies.
“We have a number of organizations that have been volunteers, not necessarily administrative staff of the city, but people within the community who are working to make a difference and are interested in moving these things forward,” he said.
Kawecki said initiatives like energy audits for city facilities, the placement of charging stations for electric vehicles and the installation of LED lighting downtown were all brought forward by volunteer groups.
Former Wood County Commissioner Wayne Dunn reinforced Kawecki’s remarks, noting the work that’s getting done is being initiated at the local level.
“At this point, counties seem to be the leaders and cities seem to be the leaders, not only in West Virginia, but around the country,” he said.
West Virginia Climate Alliance was created in 2020 and represents the organization of nearly 20 environmental, faith-based, civil rights and civic groups in the effort to push three goals for climate change legislation:
- Legislation must address environmental justice to ensure that communities of color are not disproportionately impacted by the transition to a low-carbon economy.
- The Alliance promotes action that addresses a just or true transition for fossil fuel workers, so they are not left behind in the transition.
- The Alliance wants to ensure emissions or greenhouse gases are reduced by a level that scientists have determined are necessary in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
