Charlottesville working to lower greenhouse gas emissions

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Charlottesville is working to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030.

The city’s climate program is in place to provide potential solutions to cut greenhouse gasses here and in surrounding areas.

“This is something that needs to be happening globally, but at least at Charlottesville-level we can do what we can within our own community,” Climate Protection Program Manager Susan Elliott said. “The top three climate hazards that were identified are extreme heat, then increased intensity of precipitation and flooding, as well as changing seasonal patterns.”

This program started in 2006. Elliott says new reduction targets will result in a 45% drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The aim is to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

The largest sources of emissions come from two things: “All the power it takes to heat/cool operator devices within our residential and our commercial buildings. Each of these are about 30% of our emissions,” Elliott said. “About 30% is from our transportation.”

Elliott says sustainability is the key.

“So while it can seem pretty daunting to hear a 45% reduction or trying to get to carbon neutral, there are a lot of opportunities out there,” she said. “We’ve been making some good progress, and I think there’s a lot of opportunities still for us to continue going forward.”

A part of the program’s action plan is hearing all perspectives from the community. A community workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, August 17.

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