Boston Martin Mayor Walsh released a draft of the 2014 Climate Action Plan Wednesday for public commentary alongside the latest municipal greenhouse gas emissions report for the 2012-13 year, revealing a 27 percent carbon emissions reduction since 2005.
Under the City’s Environment, Energy and Open Space Cabinet, in conjunction with Greenovate Boston, the 2014 Action Plan will include rigorous efforts toward Boston’s goal for an 80 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 and strategies on climate change preparation and community engagement, according to a Wednesday press release.
“We’ve been heavily involved throughout, especially in relation to community engagement, getting the community involved in the planning process and especially with the neighborhood chapter of the plan,” said Leah Bamberger, Greenovate Boston’s program manager. “This update builds on the 2011 plan. It’s been under development for over a year now, and we’ve been working very closely with the community from the beginning of this process.”
Bamberger said that as of Friday, the department’s online platform for public commentary, which can be found at engage.greenovateboston.org, has had over 700 participants.
The draft will be online for three weeks following its Nov. 12 release date, at which point it will be taken down for further revisions. The plan itself will be officially debuted in early January. Bamberger said the City wants to ensure that the contents of the official climate plan are representative of the community.
As part of the plan for an 80 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2050, the City aimed to reach a 25 percent reduction by 2020, which was surpassed seven years ahead of schedule, leading to a cutback in municipal electricity and a transition of the region’s electricity generation to lower emission energy sources, the release said.
“This plan creates a set of strategies and action that will help us get to those goals. It also addresses how Boston can prepare for the impact of climate change,” Bamberger said.
The City has also made progress through a recent initiative for light bulb replacement, which took advantage of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ free lighting upgrade program, the release said. This program allowed the department to replace 10,000 light bubs throughout municipal buildings, saving two million kilowatt hours of electricity and $285,000 per year.
The City has made progress through renewable energy projects, building and streetlight energy efficiency improvement projects and Boston’s growing fleet vehicle sharing program called FleetHub.
“FleetHub is the city’s internal car-share program,” Bamberger later said in an email. “It enables city employees to share a vehicle fleet for when [they] need to drive to meetings and that sort of thing.”
Launched in 2012, the vehicle-sharing program provides Zipcar’s car-sharing technology for government fleets, said Lindsay Wester, a Zipcar spokeswoman, in an email.
“Fewer cars on the road and few cars needing parking means more public transit usage, more walking and biking and reduced congestion on city streets. Which in [turn] makes city living better,” she said.
Following the release of the 2014 Climate Action Plan in January, Bamberger said the department will have a performance measurement system that will track the progress of the plan as it is implemented. This new system will be online and will be publicly available to promote transparency.
Several residents said they are looking forward to seeing the improvements made to the climate through the City’s new action plan.
Julia Romano, 24, of Brighton, said she is glad to see Walsh continuing former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s efforts toward helping the environment.
“I know that at least with Menino, he tried to promote alternate transportation. I mostly go biking, and I think the bike culture definitely helps,” she said. “If they [the City] focus on opening more bike lanes, more cycle tracks and protected bike lanes, I think it’ll be better for the city.”
Elhassain Hussein, 28, of Dorchester, said a plan such as Climate Action Plan solidifies Boston’s efforts toward being a successful green city.
“Right now, my job is driving cars around the city and knowing the City is still able to control gas reduction, even with a lot of cars, is a relief,” he said. “It’s a sign that Boston is taking a step. And with the recent report on greenhouse gas reduction, it’s a positive trait that the City has been successful in making Boston a greener city.”
Marina Moriarty, 18, of Back Bay, said she has heard of the mayor’s Climate Action Plan, and hopes to see the people of Boston engaged and involved in the City’s climate change efforts.
“Eighty percent reduction is a big number, not to mention that Boston is a really metropolitan city with a lot of things going on,” she said. “I really think community engagement is crucial… It’s crucial in a way that the people needs to know what’s going on and be aware on what’s new in Boston. We never really know if one thing and another might have a huge impact on our lives.”
