Appointed by Senate President: Brian E. Frosh; Paul G. Pinsky; E. J. Pipkin.
Appointed by House Speaker: Kumar P. Barve; Virginia P. Clagett; David D. Rudolph.
Ex officio: Roger L. Richardson, Secretary of Agriculture; T. Eloise Foster, Secretary of Budget & Management; David W. Edgerley, Secretary of Business & Economic Development; Shari T. Wilson, Secretary of the Environment; Alvin C. Collins, Secretary of General Services; Raymond A. Skinner, Secretary of Housing & Community Development; John R. Griffin, Secretary of Natural Resources; Richard E. Hall, Secretary of Planning; John D. Porcari, Secretary of Transportation; Nancy S. Grasmick, Ph.D., State Superintendent of Schools; John W. Droneburg III, Director, Maryland Emergency Management Agency; Malcolm D. Woolf, Director, Maryland Energy Administration; Andrew A. Lauland, Governor's Homeland Security Advisor; Ralph S. Tyler, Esq., Maryland Insurance Commissioner; Steven B. Larsen, Esq., Chair, Public Service Commission; William E. Kirwan, Ph.D., Chancellor, University System of Maryland.
Contact: George S. (Tad) Aburn
c/o Dept. of the Environment
Montgomery Park Business Center, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 537-3255
e-mail: gaburn@mde.state.md.us
web: www.mdclimatechange.us/
Plan of Action to Governor & General Assembly due April 2008.
The Climate Change Commission was established by the Governor in April 2007 (Executive Order 01.01.2007.07). The Commission is charged with developing a Plan of Action that addresses the causes and results of climate change in Maryland, with benchmarks and timetables for its implementation. To the Governor and the General Assembly, the Commission will provide advice and expertise on issues relating to climate change.
ADAPTATION & RESPONSE WORKING GROUP
Appointed by Commission Chair:
John R. Griffin, Chair
Richard E. Hall, Co-Chair
The Adaptation and Response Working Group is charged with developing a Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Maryland's Climate Change Vulnerability. The Strategy will include both short-and long-term measures State and local governments may undertake in planning for and adapting to a rise in sea levels due to climate change.
The Working Group is staffed by two departments: Natural Resources; and Planning.
GREENHOUSE GAS & CARBON MITIGATION WORKING GROUP
Appointed by Commission Chair:
George S. (Tad) Aburn, Jr., Chair
Malcolm D. Woolf, Co-Chair
Staff: Brian Hug (410) 573-4125
A Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Footprint Reduction Strategy, as well as a detailed implementation plan, is to be prepared by the Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Mitigation Working Group. The Strategy will set goals to reduce Maryland's greenhouse gas emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and to eighty percent of 2006 levels by 2050.
The Working Group is staffed by the Department of the Environment and the Maryland Energy Administration.
SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP
Appointed by Commission Chair:
Donald F. Boesch, Ph.D., Chair
The Scientific and Technical Working Group is to develop a Comprehensive Climate Change Impact Assessment, which will provide information and advice on the scientific and technical aspects of climate change. To develop the Assessment, the Working Group will inventory Maryland's greenhouse gas emission sources and sinks; calculate Maryland's carbon footprint (a measure of the impact of human activity on the environment); investigate the dynamics of climate change based on current and future climate models and predictions; and evaluate the impact of climate change on agriculture, forest resources, fresh water supply, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and human health.
The Working Group is staffed by the University System of Maryland and two departments: Environment; and Natural Resources.