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City passes Climate Action Plan in era of diminished federal priority

Evansville Climate Collaborative Director Lauren Norvell shares the revised 2021 Climate Action Plan with the Evansville City Council, Monday March 31. This plan used the framework of the original 2021 plan, and updated it, including shot term and long term goals and action steps.
Tim Jagielo
/
WNIN News
Evansville Climate Collaborative Director Lauren Norvell shares the revised 2025 Climate Action Plan with the Evansville City Council, Monday March 31. This plan used the framework of the original 2021 plan, and updated it, including shot term and long term goals and action steps.

The plan has 50 strategic actions to improve air quality, reduce energy use, energy costs and increase mobility, equity and access; the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30-percent by 2030

The Evansville City Council has officially approved a citywide Climate Action Plan (CAP) resolution.

As a framework, it was drafted using the original 2021 CAP commissioned by the Lloyd Winnecke Administration.

Lauren Norvell is director of the Evansville Climate Collaborative. She said this serves as a guide for various city departments.

“The plan has 50 strategic actions that city residents, businesses, organizations can take to improve our air quality, reduce our energy use, energy costs, increase our energy security, increase our mobility, increase our resilience and equity and access,” she said.

The plan's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30-percent by 2030 and 80-percent by 2050.

The main areas of focus for the 2021 plan were Transportation, Building and Energy, Waste, Local Food — Agriculture and Greenspace.

The revised plan includes sectors — Energy, Transportation, Waste, Land, and Resiliency.

Climate action priorities at the federal level are steering away from climate initiatives. According to the New York Times, Trump has "gutted federal climate efforts, rolled back regulations aimed at limiting pollution and given a major boost to the fossil fuel industry."

Norvell said this plan isn’t connected to federal funds or federal influence.

“It's guided by our local community and our local leadership, and it was a very lengthy, intense process to develop it,” she said. “So the federal government isn't going to necessarily change all these city plans. Local folks are going to do what's best for local folks.”

Technically the plan has no funding or mandates.

More on the revised CAP and original CAP can be viewed here

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