Last December, the city of Columbus released the first draft of its Climate Action Plan (CAP) to cut carbon emissions, address longstanding inequities, and bring the city to net zero by 2050.
The plan contained a series of goals and action steps in five areas: Climate Solutions, Sustainable Neighborhoods, Buildings, Transportation, and Waste. Unfortunately, it called for reducing the city’s overall carbon emissions only 25% by 2030 — not in line with climate science that calls for a 45% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 if we want a livable planet.
In response, Columbus climate advocates called on the city to increase the ambition of its Climate Action Plan to a 45% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, in line with climate science. Cities are responsible for 70% of carbon emissions, and Columbus is the 14th-largest city in the country, in the sixth-highest carbon-emitting state. What we do matters.
A coalition of environmental groups including Ready for 100 Columbus, Sunrise Columbus, Green Columbus, and Simply Living asked for and got a city council hearing at which 30 people testified calling for more ambitious goals in the plan’s first draft.
When the second draft was released, with a goal for reducing carbon emissions 36% by 2030, we posted a sign-on letter calling for additional increases in ambition to achieve a 45% emissions reduction. Over 100 people representing 27 organizations co-signed the letter.
Now, after months of dialogue with Sustainable Columbus, we are elated to see a final CAP that sets a goal of reducing the city’s emissions to 45% by 2030 — putting us well on the path to net zero emissions by 2050. With this plan, Columbus will be doing its part to reduce global emissions — even more than the weak goals set by world leaders at the recent COP 26.
Stronger climate goals
How did the city increase its overall goal for cutting emissions from 25% to 45%? By raising the ambition of subgoals throughout the final plan. Examples include:
Renewable energy. The goal for increasing commercial on-site renewable energy went from 60 to 200 MW on municipal buildings and from 250 to 600 MW on commercial buildings by 2030. The total goal for renewable energy installation went from 1 GW to 2 GW by 2050. The goal for residential solar installations went from 10 MW to 50 MW by 2030.
Electric vehicles. The goal for increasing zero-emission fleets went from 50% to 100% for municipal passenger vehicles, and 25% to 50% for rideshare vehicles by 2030. For private electric vehicle ownership, the goal remained at 10% of vehicle registrations by 2030, but the city committed to passing an EV readiness ordinance and completing a plan to roll out EV charging stations equitably across the city by 2025.
Microgrids. The city committed to implementing five microgrid and storage projects across the city by 2030. The first draft of the CAP had three microgrid projects, while the second draft committed only to a study of microgrids. Now we will see five microgrids in the next few years.
Zero-carbon buildings. The first and second drafts of the CAP called for four municipal zero-carbon buildings by 2030, but zero-carbon design standards were not required until 2050. Now the city is committing to zero-carbon municipal design standards by 2025 — which could be used to incentivize zero-carbon buildings by private developers soon thereafter.
Tree canopy. The first draft of the CAP called for a minimum of 12% tree canopy citywide by 2030, but most neighborhoods are already above 12%. The final draft calls for a city-wide tree canopy cover of 40% by 2050 and a focus on tree equity with the explicit understanding that most of these trees will have to be planted within this decade as trees take 12-20 years to contribute to the canopy cover. This goal is in line with the new Urban Forestry Master Plan.
Public transit. In line with the LinkUS mobility initiative, the final CAP added a goal of implementing three regional high-capacity transit lines by 2030 and eight lines by 2050. The plan also set goals for a 20% increase in passenger miles traveled on public transit by 2030 and 50% increase by 2050.
Energy supply. The city plans to extend its 100% renewable electricity aggregation program through Clean Energy Columbus to 100% of residential customers, mainly by folding customers of the Columbus Division of Power into the plan. Smart Columbus Energy is also working to bring more corporate customers into a 100% renewable energy aggregation plan. The city took the first step toward supplying this energy locally in September, when it announced the Columbus Solar Park, a 49.5 MW solar farm to be built on top of the city’s old landfill.
Ambition 2050. All of these strategies got the city to a 38% overall reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. To get to 45%, the city added one more commitment to identify an additional 7% reduction by 2025. Basically the city is saying they aren’t sure how to get to the full 45% in emissions reductions right now, but they expect new opportunities to open up over the next few years, and they want to be held accountable for identifying the last 7% in reductions by 2025.
All these goals — especially Ambition 2025 — are very strong, making Columbus a leader not just in Ohio, but nationally and even internationally, for addressing the climate crisis. Our Climate Action Plan is a living roadmap not only for reducing the impacts of climate change, but also for ensuring our community is resilient and able to adapt to a changing climate.
Stronger equity goals
But Columbus is not just committing to reducing emissions. We are also making landmark investments in increasing equity. Mayor Ginther’s Capital Budget for 2022 includes:
- $835,000 for six new positions in Sustainable Columbus, including an environmental justice advocate, an equitable community organizer, two sustainability coordinators, a green jobs coordinator, and a climate action plan implementation coordinator. The city is also pursuing partner funding for co-creation of its first equity index.
- $1.5 million for a new Empowered! clean energy workforce program that will provide training and career advancement for young adults in opportunity neighborhoods.
- $1.5 million for sustainable housing, including weatherization, appliance replacements, and support for small businesses and multi-family developments.
- $7 million toward a $20 million regional green fund to invest in non-profit, commercial, and residential clean energy programs. Initial projects include solar power for Central Ohio nonprofits and loans to install solar power at affordable housing developments.
This strong Climate Action Plan and real investments in equity are everything environmental advocates have been asking for from the city and more. Columbus is moving to a whole new level for cities taking action on climate and equity, and all of us should be proud.
Throughout our conversations with Sustainable Columbus, city leaders repeatedly attributed the increases in ambition for both climate and equity goals to continuous advocacy by our coalition — and we aren’t stopping now. Now that we have strong commitments for climate and equity in Columbus, we plan to stay engaged to ensure these programs actually come to fruition.
Submitted By:
- Vicky Abou-Ghalioum is hub coordinator of Sunrise Columbus.
- Cathy Cowan Becker is executive director of Simply Living.
- Claus Eckert is executive director of Green Columbus.
- Rachel Wagner is chair of Ready for 100 Columbus.
Read More: Mayor Ginther Releases Columbus Climate Action Plan