By John Huotari | john.huotari@oakridger.com
The Oak Ridger
Posted Nov 23, 2009 @ 09:00 AM
CLINTON, Tenn. —
A climate action plan aimed at reducing local greenhouse gas emissions and making Oak Ridge a "sustainable" community will be discussed at an Oak Ridge City Council work session tonight.
The climate action plan's "draft," developed during many meetings and hours of work by the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board, calls for work in five areas that range from reducing energy consumption and conserving natural resources to enhancing the business community and educating the public.
Goals include promoting the production and use of local food, developing a transportation master plan, reducing waste, improving air and water quality, and encouraging new businesses that produce "green" products or services.
Possible actions include a comprehensive energy audit of city facilities and services and establishment of minimum building code compliance standards for re-selling homes, part of an effort to revitalize existing residential and commercial properties.
EQAB is recommending the formation of a public-private partnership -- the Oak Ridge Energy and Climate Collaborative -- to oversee and guide early implementation of the plan.
EQAB has recommended emissions reduction targets of 10 percent by 2015, 50 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. Those goals, based on a 2004 baseline, are meant to help stabilize atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, a so-called greenhouse gas, at or below levels that would avoid the most severe and catastrophic potential impacts of climate change.
An emissions study has found that most of the city government's equivalent carbon dioxide emissions -- or 52 percent of them -- come from water and sewer operations. Transporting water through the city's mountainous terrain uses a lot of energy, the draft report says.
In the community, commercial and industrial operations account for 45 percent of the emissions, the report says.
Besides reducing emissions, the climate action plan is meant to provide long-term community and economic benefits to Oak Ridge citizens.
"Future economic growth in Oak Ridge will depend on how quickly we transition to a new way of living that is based on a far more diversified energy mix, more efficient use of energy and development of our communities in ways that strengthen neighborhoods and urban centers, preserve natural areas and enhance the quality of life in Oak Ridge," the report says.
The 62-page draft plan says initial implementation of priority action items is not expected to be costly, and the return on investment should be realized quickly.
Meanwhile, delaying action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions could add to potential costs, reducing economic benefits and "making it more difficult to reach long-term goals."
"If we fail to take action, the consequences to human populations are potentially severe," the report says. "If we are wrong about the causes, but we take the actions that have been recommended, man and the environment will certainly be no worse off and arguably better off than under a business-as-usual scenario."
In the summer of 2008, city officials asked EQAB to develop a baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, recommend emissions reduction targets, develop a "local action plan," and offer recommendations that could help make the city more environmentally friendly.
The draft climate action plan says the "most significant reductions in emissions will come from increasing energy efficiency in all sectors of our community, continuing to increase sources and use of renewable energy, and designing our communities to reduce our reliance on automobiles for transportation."
The plan includes 25 strategies, along with 74 tactics for possible implementation.
Development of the plan included a well-attended public forum in January that generated more than 400 ideas.
Today's work session begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex.
John Huotari can be contacted at (865) 220-5533.
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