MOBILIZE FREDERICK

In 2020 a group of Frederick County and City of Frederick residents in Maryland convened under the Climate Emergency Resolution, adopted by the City Board of Aldermen and County Council. They formed the Climate Emergency Mobilization Workgroup, submitting 40 recommendations for local action in their 2021 report, Climate Response and Resilience. Volunteers dedicated more than 18,500 hours to identify steps our governments, businesses, community organizations, and residents could take to create a safer, healthier, more resilient county.

Mobilize Frederick was established by many members of the Workgroup to implement the report’s proposed solutions. Our first-year efforts paid off. Frederick County has allocated $3.7 million to start an Office of Climate and Energy and to expand existing programs, such as home weatherization, solar installations, and fleet electrification. The City of Frederick has also increased its budget for climate-related programs and funded a study of a "Green Bank" to finance cleaner technologies for low-income households, farms, and small businesses. Governments alone cannot achieve the goal. There must also be community-wide collaboration.