HOUSTON – Houston officially announced the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) on Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
According to the news release, the plan is a “science-based, community-driven strategy for the City of Houston to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, meet the Paris Agreement goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and lead a global energy transition.”
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According to the release, the CAP is focused on reducing emissions in the four areas that generate the most of the region’s greenhouse emissions: Transportation, energy transition, materials management and building optimization.
Each area has goals and targets that are meant to help the city reach its objective.
Transportation
The city hopes to do three things:
- To completely convert non-emergency vehicles and the light-duty municipal fleet electric and low-emissions vehicles by 2030.
- To reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita by 20% by 2050.
- To provide equitable, safe mobility choices and eliminate traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 and to have 500 miles of “high-comfort” bike lanes by 2025.
Energy transition
The goals are:
- To grow Houston’s investment in renewable and resilient energy and attain 5 million MWh of power production per year via solar sources by 2050.
- To make Houston the leader in carbon capture technology and energy innovation by attracting or incubating 50 Energy 2.0 companies in the greater Houston area by 2025.
- To restore, protect and enhance Houston’s natural ability to capture and store carbon by planting 4.6 million new native trees by 2030.
Materials Management
The plan lays out three goals:
- To reduce waste and transform the circular economy. The city aims to reduce 50% of residential waste by 2040.
- To optimize waste operations and create power from waste along with converting the municipal solid-waste fleet to low-emission vehicles by 2030.
- To ensure a safe, long-term and cost-effective disposal capacity and adopt the Long Range Solid Waste Plan this year.
Building optimization
The city wants:
- To reduce building energy and maximize savings by adopting the 2021 ICC building code and implementing is by 2025 with a minimum 5-year update.
- To expand investment in energy efficiency by doubling the current number of PACE projects by 2025.
- To invest in skilled local jobs to optimize building operations and have 70% of non-residential buildings operated by a trained building operator by 2030.
For more information about the CAP, visit Greenhoustontx.gov.