Members of a county advisory panel are seeking more specifics on how Arlington’s energy initiatives stack up against localities across the region.
The goal is to “try and compare [county efforts] to what our neighbors are doing,” said Elizabeth Whitney, who chairs the Arlington Energy Committee, at an April 8 meeting.
Whitney told county staff it would be helpful to receive a summary of all the programs staff assigned to the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) are working on. The information would help educate committee members “what are folks spending their time on,” she said.
Rhina Lara, a climate communications specialist with the county government, said the information could be provided — helping committee members to benchmark the county’s endeavors against those of its neighbors, at least to some extent.
The Energy Committee is a subgroup of the Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission, better known as C2E2. While commission members advise the County Board, committee members provide feedback to the county manager’s office on facets of the Community Energy Plan.
Committee member Liliana Diaz Barrera said she was particularly interested in how Arlington compares to the Alexandria city government’s partnerships with community organizations on environmental and energy efforts.
“They do have [environmental] incentives,” Diaz Barrera said. “They may not be large — $50,000, $100,000 — but they are partnering.”
Last month, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) held an event to celebrate local government projects on energy issues.
“They had great stats,” said committee member Rob Sandoli. “That would be a good comparison.”
Created in 2009, COG’s Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee recently held its 100th meeting and celebrated the region’s progress on climate action. That committee is also tasked with supporting local governments’ attempts to meet regional energy goals.
