For more information, contact:
Carla Felix (402) 471-4223
Amanda Woita (402) 471-4243
Nathanael Urie (402) 471-4245
carla.felix@nebraska.gov
amanda.woita@nebraska.gov
nathanael.urie@nebraska.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2023

Please note the corrected link to the webinar below.

NDEE presents kickoff webinar on the Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Program

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is kicking off state-wide outreach with a public webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 2 to 3 p.m. to provide an overview of Nebraska’s Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Program.

NDEE is using a planning grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement climate action plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Nebraska. Through this award, NDEE will develop a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) due by March 1, 2024, followed by a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) due in August 2025.

The PCAP will identify high-priority, readily-implemented actions to reduce GHG emissions, focusing on voluntary actions and financial incentives. The following CCAP is required to explore short-term and long-term GHG emission reduction measures across all sectors of the economy. Both plans will solicit participation from a variety of stakeholders across the state and will include analyses of benefits to low-income and underserved communities, along with other elements required by the EPA grant.

After NDEE submits the PCAP, state and local governmental bodies in Nebraska will be eligible to submit applications to EPA by April 1, 2024, for competitive implementation grants that carry out actions consistent with Nebraska’s Priority Climate Action Plan.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy is committed to an open, transparent, and inclusive engagement process for these planning activities. The webinar on Oct. 17, the first step in this process, will provide an overview of current Nebraska greenhouse gas emissions, the elements the plans are required to cover, the economic sectors to be considered in the planning process, and information about the implementation grants. As starting points for public discussion in later stakeholder working group sessions, the agency will also propose potential GHG reduction measures that could be implemented in Nebraska in each sector.

Shortly after this webinar, NDEE will begin scheduling virtual working group sessions to consider emission reduction measures. We invite any interested persons and organizations to consider joining one of the following working groups:

· Agriculture / Natural and Working Lands

· Energy Production

· Transportation

· Buildings, Housing, and Communities

· Energy-Intensive Industries & Waste Management


The Webex link to join the webinar on Oct.17 is: https://sonvideo.webex.com/sonvideo/j.php?MTID=md37d6a8e477588172b20d18a266bbaec (this link was corrected on Oct. 16).

A recording of the webinar will also be posted on the Nebraska Climate Pollution Reduction Planning program web page (http://dee.ne.gov/ndeqprog.nsf/onweb/cprg) for later viewing. The web page also includes information on joining stakeholder working groups and for subscribing to the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant email listserv.

For further information about the webinar and the program contact NDEE via email at: NDEE.climatepollution@nebraska.gov.