On April 22, 2020 the City of Houston released the anticipated Houston Climate Action Plan. It is expected that the Plan will be presented to Houston City Council for adoption in late May or June. The Plan provides goals, guidelines, and an overall framework for the specific measures that will need to be adopted to reduce emissions.  Links to Plan documents are below.  Also linked below is a new Sierra Club Climate Resilience Policy document, which outlines the urgency for enhancing Climate Resilience and carbon dioxide removal.

 

"A Climate Action Plan provides evidenced-based measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preventative measures to address the negative outcomes of climate change. The plan will demonstrate how the City will adapt and improve its resilience to climate hazards that impact the city today as well as risks that may increase in the coming years.

To comply with the Paris Agreement, the plan will follow science-based criteria that will cap the temperature increase associated with climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Scientists believe that preventing global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius will avert the worst consequences of climate change. This plan will create ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and establish a pathway to meet the Paris Agreement goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050."

 

 "Reducing Houston’s emissions and leading a global energy transition is a community-wide effort and will require action from residents and the business community. The City of Houston’s Office of Sustainability consulted with community stakeholders, students, businesses, non-profits, Houston’s academic institutions, environmental experts and the energy sector for over a year to ensure the plan had buy-in from the community and was viewed as both ambitious and achievable. The Houston Advanced Research Center and C40 provided technical support, funded by CenterPoint Energy and the Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation."

 

"The Houston Climate Action Plan is focused on reducing emissions in the four areas -- Transportation, Energy Transition, Building Optimization, and Materials Management – which generate most of the region’s ghg emissions. Each focus area identifies goals, strategies, actions and targets for residents, businesses, and the City to follow."

 

City of Houston Climate Action Plan page, with links to Houston Climate Action Plan, City Press Release, and Climate Action Plan Spreadsheet:

Link to City of Houston Office of Sustainability web page, with links to different

City Green programs:

 

 

For questions or comments, contact Frank Blake at frankblake@juno.com