The City of Portland has committed to reducing community wide greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 and transitioning to 100% clean energy for municipal operations by 2040. In addition, the City will need to prepare for rising seas caused by global climate change.
In order to reach this goal we are collaborating with the City of South Portland to establish a climate action and adaptation plan that will help us reach that ambitious goal. Our planning process is called ONE CLIMATE FUTURE. As part of the process we are doing a comprehensive inventory of the greenhouse gas emissions from both communities in 2017. This will include residential, commercial, and industrial emissions. We will use the data to establish a benchmark to measure our progress toward reducing overall emissions 80% by 2050. We are committed to reaching every sector of our community during the planning process so we can share anticipated impacts of climate change and to get feedback about how to make sure Portland and South Portland remain vibrant and livable communities in the face of an uncertain climate future. Please visit our climate action planning page at oneclimatefuture.org to learn more about the planning process and how you can get involved.
We also invite you to watch the kick off press conference featuring remarks by members of the Portland and South Portland Community. https://youtu.be/G60e3gyhz4g
The following programs are also underway to help achieve the City’s resiliency goals.
As part of the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative Sustainability Series, Troy Moon, City of Portland Sustainability Coordinator, gave an update on the City’s sustainability efforts and the One Climate Future climate action and adaptation planning process.