The Vermont VTrans Climate Change Action Plan provides specific strategies to address climate change in three major focus areas: 1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector; 2) protecting Vermont's transportation infrastructure from the effects of climate change; and 3) reducing VTrans' operational impacts on climate change. Climate change impacts to the region are synthesized from the most recent regional impact assessments available at that time, and they form the basis for recommendations to move forward.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) developed the actions described in this report based on a review of the transportation-related recommendations in the Governor's Commission on Climate Change (GCCC) report. VTrans considered agency programs and capacity to undertake the recommendations on a short and long term basis.

Some adaptation actions proposed include:

• Federal and state agencies and universities at the federal and state levels - perhaps through the VT Climate Change Collaborative - should work together to institute a process for better communication among transportation professionals, climate scientists, and those in other relevant scientific disciplines, and establish a clearinghouse for transportation- relevant climate change information.
• Safety on the entire system must be maintained. Given greater stream flows and erosion the Agency may need to prioritize efforts to inspect and protect critical structures from stream scour.
• Identify Vermont’s transportation infrastructure essential to maintaining network performance that is vulnerable to climate change. Adaptation priorities should be focused on critical corridors and places where impacts are significant and consequential. Planning for these corridors must include land use planning and alternative mode and telecommunications infrastructure - all factors that influence traffic levels and road way function.