Archived Biennial Reports

The past two years have marked the start up phase of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation’s new environment program.  The program’s most prominent component is support for measures to address global warming which underscores the family’s entrepreneurial belief that enduring solutions to major societal problems can be solved.  The second component involves grantmaking to encourage open space protection at a community level.

The foundation’s global warming efforts have used Connecticut as a focal point, with the straightforward goal of turning the state from a laggard to a leader in taking action on this important issue, and in serving as a model for others to follow.

Through extraordinary efforts on the part of a diverse group of corporate leaders, academic experts, state agency personnel, and the non-profit community, Governor Rowland’s stakeholders group on global warming met for several months and generated over 55 scientifically based and economically sound proposals that will help Connecticut reach its global warming reduction targets.  Almost all of the recommendations had the full support of all of the members of the Stakeholders Group, and many were accepted by Governor Rowland and are now moving toward some form of implementation.  (For the latest news about the plan, and state level actions, please visit www.ctclimatechange.org .)

Many of the other projects that we provided seed funding for in 2002 also began to bear fruit at the end of 2003.  The following are some examples: 

SmartPower Connecticut succeeded in getting the city of New Haven to commit to purchasing at least 20% of their electrical power from renewable energy sources by 2010. As one of the largest cities in Connecticut, we hope that New Haven’s example will influence the other municipalities in Connecticut.

Connecticut Fund for the Environment has continued to be successful in educating legislative leaders and informing the public of the health risks associated with tailpipe emissions from cars.  Their efforts have brought support at the State Capitol for measures to promote the availability and consumption of more low emissions vehicles in Connecticut.

Environment Northeast continues to lead the way in reducing diesel emissions from freighters and trucks throughout Connecticut, and continues their leadership role on the design and implementation of a roadmap for state actions on global warming.

Open Space

In the past two years the Foundation has also made two important initial investments in open space protection that will help us define our work in the Open Space arena.

The Shawangunk Biodiversity Consortium, led by the Mohonk Preserve and the Nature Conservancy in partnership with municipalities and other non-profits, are working hard to save the Shawangunk Ridge in upstate New York, a unique Ridge ecosystem. The Conservancy refers to the ridge as one of the “Last Great Places on Earth”.  Through strategic planning and community outreach they have been able to generate a constituency for a new framework for preserving open space in and around the Shawangunk Ridge.

Similarly, the Trust for Public Land has used our support to reach out to communities and encourage a long-term strategic planning effort in three key sites.  In and along the Connecticut River and the adjoining states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut; Sugar Creek which runs through both North and South Carolina; and along the shores of Lake Erie and Ontario.

Next Steps

In our global warming program, the Foundation’s work in Connecticut continues to move forward. We are poised to support a broader array of state and regional action in the Northeast as well as ensure that the investments made in the past few years will result in the implementation of necessary state and regional actions.

In our open space program, the rich and varied experience from the two initial Tremaine Foundation investments continues to teach us how to approach these issues in the future.