At an Ecologic Transatlantic Luncheon on 24 September 2008, Dale Medearis spoke about trends in climate and energy policy in the United States at the national, state and local level. Dale Medearis is senior environmental planner for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, where he leads the regional climate and energy programs and manages its international environmental partnerships through the European Network of Metropolitan Areas and Regions (METREX).

In his opening remarks, Dale Medearis marked 1995 as a critical year in American environmental policy, which saw a switch from a narrow focus on superfund related issues to a more comprehensive strategy of sustainable management through land use planning, climate and energy policy, and related initiatives. As part of this sea change in thinking, much of the policy-making shifted from national to state and local governments, where many of the decisions regarding zoning, transportation, and building codes are made.

Dale Medearis identified many topics about which a transatlantic dialogue between local governments could be productive, and in many cases is already taking place, including:

• Large scale renewable energy project planning;
• Land use planning;
• Mixed use development; and
• Setting realistic benchmarks.

Information he felt American policymakers would be particularly interested in learning included:

• The context of various European policy innovations;
• The performance of different European environmental policies in the short and long-term; and
• Prospective analysis applied to US localities given the sometimes large policy differences.

Much of the discussion centered on the systemic challenges to forging productive and enduring transatlantic relationships at the level of local government, as the success of past relationships have often depended on the presence of highly motivated individuals in key government positions. “Sister city” and city “twinning” programs, as well as organizations like the National League of Cities hold promise for formalizing these dialogues and providing a more analytic framework for the exchange of information.

Prior to working for NVRC, Medearis spent approximately 20 years at the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, as the program manager for Western Europe and urban environmental programs.

Further Links:

• Ecologic Project: Federalism in Germany and the USA: Environmental Regulatory Implications and Trends
• Ecologic Publication: International Best Practices and Innovation - Strategically Harvesting Environmental Lessons from Abroad
• Ecologic Dinner Dialogue: The New Environmental Awareness in the United States: Successful Climate Protection at the Grassroots – John Morrill
• Ecologic Dinner Dialogue: Comparative Domestic Policies – Experiences at the Subnational Level – Miranda A. Schreurs
• CV Dale Medearis [pdf, English, 7 KB]
• METREX - The network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas