by Rick Moore, Clean Energy & Efficiency Director
Update: Read the Flagstaff Climate Action Plan ›
Cities, with their air-conditioned buildings, appliance-filled homes, and endless streams of traffic, consume roughly 80 percent of the world’s energy and produce more than 70 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions. Given the emissions from cities and the Trump administration’s skepticism regarding climate change and withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, cities are taking a leadership role to combat climate change by developing climate action plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Is Flagstaff ready for climate change? Take the survey ›
Wanting to do its part, the Flagstaff City Council adopted the goal in early 2017 of “taking meaningful action on climate change” and directed the city’s sustainability staff to develop a climate action plan for city operations and the community. In October, the city hired a consultant to develop the Flagstaff Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, which will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing to respond to the predicted impacts of climate change. The goal is to complete the plan by October 2018. The city is committed to including the ideas and concerns of Flagstaff residents as it develops the plan and is kicking off the planning process with an open house at the Flagstaff Aquaplex on Wednesday, January 24, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
So what is a climate action plan?
Major components typically include:
- An inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions by major type of source, such as buildings, transportation, electrical generation, etc.
- An emission reduction goal, usually expressed as a percentage reduction compared to a baseline year. For example, Fort Collins has a goal of reducing its emissions so that by 2020 they are 20 percent below 2005 emissions, and, by 2030, 80 percent lower than 2005 emissions.
- A prediction of how emissions will increase under a “business as usual” scenario compared to the emission reduction goal to determine how much emissions need to be cut (see chart below).
- A suite of strategies to achieve the needed reductions.
Do climate action plans work?
The short answer is yes, if the plan is well thought out and the city and community are willing to take action. Take Fort Collins, for example. According to the 2016 Fort Collins report on the progress achieved under their climate action plan:
- Emissions are 12 percent below 2005, more than halfway to the 2020 goal.
- Energy efficiency investments in 2016 saved the amount of energy used by 3,750 homes.
- Businesses save $9.5 million annually from investments in energy efficiency.
- Locally-installed solar electric generating capacity has more than tripled between 2014 and 2016.
- Per capita emissions have dropped 28 percent.
Fort Collins achieved these results, while increasing its economy by 28 percent and population by 23 percent. In recognition of its exemplary efforts, Fort Collins was recently named the winner of the of the Cities4Action Award at the North America Climate Summit. Learn more about the status of the Fort Collins effort ›
Why should Flagstaff residents care?
Temperatures in northern Arizona are projected to rise from about 2 degrees to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. While precipitation is projected to remain about the same, the increase in warmth will mean more evaporation and more use of water by plants, leading to drier soil conditions. Snowpack is expected to decrease (and probably disappear), and large wildfires will likely increase. Flooding will become more prevalent. How much the temperature increases will be dependent, in part, on the actions we take to cut our greenhouse gas emissions.
The good news is that cutting our emissions provides many benefits, including:
- Reducing business and home energy costs
- Creating local jobs
- Keeping more of our energy dollars in Flagstaff
- Reducing traffic congestion
- Reducing water consumption and the cost of energy to pump it
How can you learn more?
The Grand Canyon Trust is a founding member of the Flagstaff Climate Action Council, a group of citizens, organizations, and businesses concerned about climate change. Both the Trust and the FCAC support the Flagstaff Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and other efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more, contact:
- Rick Moore, Clean Energy and Efficiency Director, Grand Canyon Trust
- Flagstaff Climate Action Council
- City of Flagstaff
The City of Flagstaff will host the first public open house to provide information on the plan and to gather thoughts of local residents at the Flagstaff Aquaplex, January 24 from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. We hope to see you there, but if you can’t attend, you can contribute your thoughts by filling out the city’s survey.