The RMHS Climate Club was asked to provide feedback about Reading’s new Net Zero Action Plan draft, and was also tasked with creating a cover letter for the complete plan itself.
The RMHS Climate Club is a student-led group, run by president Clara Healy (’26) and vice presidents Sachi Selvakumar (’26) and Samuel Hillery (’26). Meetings are held once a month on Mondays before school. The club aims to spread awareness regarding climate change within and beyond the high school community.
In regards to the Net Zero Action Plan, the club aims to educate the public about the plan and make sure that students’ voices, who are ultimately the future of the plan, are included.
The Net Zero Action Plan is a document that will soon be published by our town that provides the steps for Reading to reach net zero by 2050. Reaching net zero means that our town would remove the same amount of carbon emissions that we have spread into the atmosphere over time. The document includes many strategies for how we can reach this goal.
The plan specifically pinpoints five main categories in which it aims to make Reading more sustainable, including Building & Energy, Transportation & Mobility, Waste, Municipal Action, and Community Engagement & Awareness. It also lists specific actions that the town is striving for, such as providing electric school buses for the community and transferring homes and businesses to run off of renewable energy.
This plan came about as a result of the 2050 Roadmap Law, which states that by 2030, emissions must be cut by 50% in Massachusetts. The law says that by 2050, we must have net zero emissions as a state. The Town of Reading’s Planning Division is taking the lead on this plan, and has other advisors including the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Reading municipal departments, and even a Committee Advisory Group consisting of eight citizens in the area. Citizens of Reading had the opportunity to share feedback on the draft of the plan in late 2024. The initiation of the plan began in August, 2023.
Healy is clear about her thoughts on how the Net Zero Plan will impact our community. She says, “If we start on a smaller level and we build it outwards, that would be amazing because getting the world to net zero would be obviously the ultimate goal.”
She also provides a reason for why students and adults should be interested in this plan. She said, “The climate impact of our town, you know, obviously right now is not awesome, and if we can lower that, that would be awesome and we could be an example for communities around us.”
The full plan will be finalized and sent out around the beginning of 2025.
Antonio • Jan 17, 2025 at 6:48 pm
Great article! Thanks for writing about our club.
Meghan • Jan 15, 2025 at 8:22 pm
Love the article!
Grace Betcher • Jan 15, 2025 at 8:22 pm
Great writing! Truly inspirational environmental ideas and minds!