The Climate Smart Gardiner task force presented a synopsis of the town’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a town board meeting on Feb. 5, highlighting successes and outlining room for improvement.

Drawing from dozens of town records, climate smart task force member Mark Varian said the study created a baseline to monitor and evaluate the town’s future performance in reducing GHG emissions, established targets by which the town can reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and contributed to the efforts to develop and publish a climate action plan to guide the town in making future energy decisions.

The largest source of GHG is the town’s vehicle fleet, with 138 metric tons of greenhouse gases emitted in 2017. Administration facilities released 46 tons of greenhouses gases, streetlights and traffic signals released 12 and wastewater facilities released 4.6.

While technology hasn’t advanced to the point that incredibly efficient, electric or battery powered plows and bulldozers are available, the task force suggested a possible 20-year timeline for replacing older, less efficient equipment with the most environmentally friendly vehicles available.

Varian said the town is relatively efficient with its energy usage, but there is still room for improvement.

“The good news is that the town has been managing their energy requirements quite well,” Varian said. “So, we can expect modest reductions in the near future, but there are ways of reducing the fossil fuel component of our electricity.”

Varian the next step includes gathering community and town board input for the task force’s Government Operations Climate Action Plan. The task force will be presenting at the Go Green Expo in Gardiner next month to get the community more involved.

Then, the task force must create and publish the Climate Action Plan and submit it for town board approval.

The task force is also beginning to develop a GHG inventory for the Gardiner community, which will include residences, industry, commercial establishments, institutions, the library, fire department and sky-diving school.

“So, we have our work cut out for us,” Varian said.