Cincinnati is on track to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050, a goal set by the Green Cincinnati Plan in 2018.
Sustainability Director Oliver Kroner says the city reduced emissions significantly between 2006 and 2015.
"We are able to demonstrate that city government has achieved a 36% reduction in carbon emissions, and city-wide we've been able to achieve an 18.4% reduction from all the emissions generated here," Kroner said.
Transportation, commercial buildings and industrial buildings account for nearly 85% of carbon emissions across the city.
Despite overall progress, industrial emissions increased during that time. Kroner says the industrial sector is especially difficult to manage.
"Each one is a unique organism — they have their own processes, they have their own facilities, and it's harder to design an umbrella approach to address all of them," Kroner said. "So we've met with industrial partners, and we've met with federal and state EPA to identify strategies, but it's hard to sum them up in a program."
The Warm-Up Cincy program has improved energy efficiency in more than a hundred households over the last year. Cincinnati Director of Environment and Sustainability Michael Forrester says low-income residents are already experiencing the impact of recent higher temperatures.
"We want to ensure that the risks of climate change are not shared differently among our residents, and we want to ensure that the benefits of a green economy are shared equally as well," Forrester said.
The city is already working on the next update to the Green Cincinnati plan, which will be finalized in 2023. This year, Cincinnati will focus on upgrading city buildings to improve energy efficiency, and "greening" the fleet with electric vehicles.
See full update on the Green Cincinnati Plan below:
Greening Cincinnati Building a Sustainable Equitable Resilient City by WVXU News on Scribd
