Andrew Wishnea, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Policy at the U. S. Department of Transportation, will headline the list of presenters at the upcoming Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative  virtual conference, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

NET ZERO 2021 (NZ‐21) | Powering Change at the Grassroots Level: Our Roadmap to a Clean Energy Future” is the Climate Collaborative’s fourth annual and second virtual conference. The website, https://netzero21.vfairs.com/, details the agenda and activities of the day. The event is offered free of charge to participants due to the generosity of its sponsors.

Wishnea will address the conference on “Building Back Better: Bold New Federal Climate Policy for 2021 and Beyond.” The conference will also feature U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Katie Theoharides, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs. Other presenters include Kristy Senatori, Executive Director of the Cape Cod Commission; Maggie Downey, Compact Administrator at Cape Light Compact; State Senators Julian Cyr and Susan Moran and State Representatives Kip Diggs, Dylan Fernandes, Sarah Peake, David Vieira, and Timothy Whelan; and many others.

The virtual event convenes federal, state, regional, and local leaders, businesses, policy makers, scientists, clean energy providers, and advocates to discuss exciting new federal, state, and regional legislation and initiatives, and offer a roadmap for communities, organizations, and individuals to undertake actions to advance the journey to net zero for the Cape & Islands region and beyond.

Richard Delaney, founder of the Climate Collaborative and president of its board of directors said, “We are at a critical intersection in our history where the increasing urgency of the climate crisis—particularly for our extremely vulnerable region—has converged with the emergence of exciting new energy policies and programs.” NZ-21 event co-chair Fran Schofield added, “This event is for citizens, municipal leaders, planners, environmentalists, clean energy advocates, youth and faith community activists… virtually anyone wishing to better understand the issues and comprehend the new federal, state and regional legislation, programs and initiatives that will propel environmentally just and equitable change at the local level.”

Major NZ-21 event sponsors include Presenting Sponsor Cape Light Compact, Diamond Sponsor Cape Cod 5, and Platinum Sponsors Cape Air, Solect Energy, and Vineyard Wind; other underwriters include leading education, transportation, health care, business, and built environment organizations. Event co-chair Janet Williams said, “The remarkable generosity of our many sponsors has enabled us to offer this event free of charge and whose support illustrates the depth and breadth of concern and sense of urgency for addressing the climate crisis.”

The Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative is a consortium of environmental, energy, government, business, education, faith community, and activist organizations whose mission is to help the Cape & Islands reach carbon neutrality or “net zero” by enhancing communication, collaboration, and action among entities committed to mitigating the climate crisis. The Net Zero conference is the Climate Collaborative’s signature event, the fourth in a series of annual conferences and its second virtual conference. To learn more about the organization