2020_01-28_PWETCpacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

St. Louis Park Climate Action Plan The City of St. Louis Park has committed to a bold, yet achievable, goal to become carbon neutral by 2040. This will require aggressive action on the part of the city, its residents, and its businesses. The following lays out a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that will set the city in motion to achieve its ambitious climate goals. The CAP is designed to guide the city through various strategies and initiatives to achieve seven broad goals to reduce energy consumption, increase renewable energy, and transform travel. The CAP is broken into four sections that will help the city make continuous progress toward achieving carbon neutrality. The plan begins with three kick-start projects. These projects are designed to help city staff, residents, and businesses hit the ground running upon the launch of the plan. These tangible projects will allow the city to claim early success and generate momentum to continue buildings its efforts to implement this plan. The three projects are: Project 1: Youth -led initiative to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy in the community Project 2: Develop a climate action plan resource hub Project 3: Install electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in public parking lots The second section includes seven goals to reduce energy consumption in the commercial and residential sectors, achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030, reduce transportation emissions by 25%, and accomplish the city's waste reduction goal. These goals and their supporting strategies will help the city reduce emissions 55% by 2030, and 62% by 2040. Impact Goals The third section of the CAP identifies opportunities for Advanced Strategies the city will need to explore in more depth to meet the final 38% reduction in emissions. Of the remaining emissions, 36% are from natural gas used in buildings and industrial processes, 44% are from vehicle travel, and 19% are from air travel. These will need to be met using the acceleration of existing technologies, carbon offsets, and taking advantage of technological innovations. The final section of the CAP focuses on city operations emissions reductions. By implementing deep energy efficiency practices, increasing renewable energy installations, and cleaning its fleet, the city can set an example for residents and businesses to support and follow.