New Hampshire state officials are looking for feedback on a plan to take action locally on climate change.
The plan is known as a “comprehensive climate action plan,” and the work to create it was funded by a federal program that supported similar efforts in states across the country..
New Hampshire’s plan was expected to be finished in December, but federal regulators extended the deadline to July 2026. It will be the state’s first coordinated strategy aimed at addressing climate change since 2009.
But state officials have said they aren’t planning to add targets for cutting climate-warming pollution into state law. Instead, they plan to focus on voluntary measures and support programs that already exist.
Under the EPA program, states are required to include firm targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in their plans. New Hampshire officials have said they plan to instead choose measures that could cut climate pollution, model how much pollution they would cut, and then create targets that align with those estimates.
The draft plan, released earlier this month, includes proposed measures like weatherizing buildings, installing heat pumps, expanding solar power, and preserving forest land.
Transportation makes up almost half of New Hampshire’s emissions, and the plan includes proposals to expand bike trails, develop small scale public transit, and install equipment across the state for electric vehicles as proposed to cut emissions.
State officials say they are planning to use existing structures, including several federally funded programs, to support the strategies in the climate action plan. But the Trump Administration has attempted to scrap at least one program New Hampshire is planning to rely on, Solar for All.
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services says federal funding for the creation of the climate plan has not been affected by spending rollbacks or the federal shutdown, and the agency is continuing to work as normal.
Regulators are asking for feedback on the draft plan by November 15.
