PORTLAND, Maine — A climate symposium is being held Friday at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland.
One-hundred-fifty Maine leaders are expected to be there to find climate change solutions that are suitable for Maine.
Island Institute is hosting the conference.
"At the Island Institute, we recognize the challenges facing coastal communities are very similar to the climate change challenges facing all communities in Maine, and by highlighting what's happening on the coast and understand what is happening inland as well, we are able to show that this is all one big interconnected system and the solutions that we are bringing to bear on the coast and the solutions of the island institute is working on every day, can be translated across the coast," Sam Belknap, Island Institute's senior community development officer, said.
Belknap said climate change is affecting our Maine coastal communities and working waterfronts.
For example, sea levels are rising, our waters off the coast of Maine are getting warmer, and the atmosphere is also getting warmer, which Belknap said is affecting many species and practices.
"So, a lot of these solutions, they may start small with local applications, but really they provide models by which both the coast and the nation as a whole can start to adapt to some of these challenges of climate change, as well as start to address them with the root causes of climate change. So while a few electric outboards on a co-op in the coast of Maine may have a small impact, proving that that can work and be a solution for the rest of the coast and the coastline elsewhere, has much bigger implications," Belknap added.
One of the goals of the event is to find potential clean-energy solutions that many Maine communities can start implementing. Some speakers are expected to talk about many solutions they've already implemented, so other communities, businesses, and industries can also consider them.
More details about the climate symposium can be found here.