Stamford held its first climate summit on Thursday.

Following the state's second hottest and sixth wettest year on record, the city is looking inward.

"Cities globally are responsible for 70% of carbon emissions. As Connecticut's second-largest and fastest-growing city, we have an obligation to do our part and set an example to reduce our carbon emissions where we can," says Mayor Caroline Simmons.

Since transportation remains the biggest contributor to carbon emissions, Stamford continues to transform itself into a more bikeable and walkable city.

"We have about $50 million worth of projects in design that also include biking and pedestrian infrastructure, including accessible pedestrian signals," says Frank Petise, Stamford's transportation bureau chief.

The city is also turning its public transportation into what they describe as a new green fleet.

Simmons says Stamford recently secured state and federal funding to deploy more EV charges.

Flood prevention remains a major focus for the city, as experts predict the state's sea levels to rise and Connecticut is projected to experience increasingly stronger storms with more wind and rain.

"One of the things we're doing is building more bioswales across the city. It's essentially a green patch, an impervious surface that you build near a storm drain that helps attract runoff from a storm," says Simmons.

One short term idea the city is working on is making its food scrap recycling program more accessible.

"My goal is to have these collection containers within the city. We can have them right there for people to drop off their food waste," says Dan Colleluori, Stamford's director of recycling and sanitation.