Title
Resolution Adopting the Living A2Zero Ann Arbor Carbon Neutrality Plan
Memorandum
On November 4th, 2019, Ann Arbor City Council unanimously voted to declare a climate emergency and set the goal of becoming carbon neutral, as an entire community, by the year 2030. In that same resolution, Council directed staff to create a living plan for how to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and present that draft plan to City Council no later than March 31st, 2020.
Heeding that direction, staff undertook an intensive 4-month public engagement process that included more than 60 public events, 3 public surveys, 2 large town halls, the recruitment and engagement of over 60 partner organizations, support from over 80 technical advisors, the hiring of a communications firm, and the engagement of technical consultants to supplement staff in the quantification of the cost and greenhouse gas reduction potential of climate-related actions. In total, this initiative led to the creation of the living A2Zero Carbon Neutrality Plan.
The Plan includes 7 overarching strategies and 44 sub-actions. The 7 overarching strategies are:
1. Powering our electrical grid with 100% renewable energy.
2. Switching our appliances and vehicles from gasoline, diesel, propane, and natural gas to electric.
3. Significantly improving the energy efficiency in our homes, businesses, schools, places of worship, recreational sites, and government facilities.
4. Reducing the miles we travel in our vehicles by at least 50%.
5. Changing the way we use, reuse, and dispose of materials.
6. Enhancing the resilience of our people and our place.
7. Other - which are mostly foundational initiatives that support the work above as well as the purchasing of carbon offsets to close any remaining gap between emissions reductions locally and emissions produced locally.
The A2Zero Carbon Neutrality Plan was always envisioned as being a living plan, one that will change and evolve over time. As such, the action...
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