How Local Governments Can Lead the Clean Energy Movement Right Now
Photo by Peter Beukema
In 2021, levels of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere hit a record high. The highest they’ve been in two million years.
Despite the significant economic downturn created by the COVID-19 pandemic, humans managed to use enough energy to supercharge the greenhouse effect to an unprecedented level.
To slow the effects of climate change and keep our planet habitable and healthy, everyone has a role to play. This includes cities, towns, and counties across the United States.
All across the nation, local governments have set lofty goals to combat climate change:
Denver, Colorado aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
San Diego, California is dedicated to reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.
Indianapolis, Indiana pledges to convert all municipal operations to renewable energy by 2028 and to see community-side renewable energy by 2050.
Whether through master planning, council ordinances or mayoral proclamations, cities and counties are sending a message about their concern on climate change and using clean energy to combat it.
But how do localities turn clean energy goals into sustainable, affordable energy their residents can rely on?
Climate change requires emergency prevention - not just emergency management.
Local governments are experts in preventing and responding to disasters.
On a daily basis, utility departments stop stormwater systems from flooding, drinking water from being contaminated, natural gas from leaking, and trash from piling up on the sidewalk. Compared to these routine challenges, the climate crisis should look like any other hurricane or power outage.
But the climate crisis is making existing emergency scenarios, like hurricanes and droughts, more common. It’s also introducing new, unforeseen challenges, like record temperature fluctuations and precipitation records in some areas.
Forward-thinking cities know a traditional, reactive approach will no longer cut it. Localities must take a proactive stance to preserve infrastructure, protect private property, and minimize negative health outcomes for residents in the face of an unpredictable climate crisis.
Experts from across industries agree that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and gas, is the primary driver of climate change. To have the greatest impact on climate change, there must be greater investments in clean energy infrastructure.
Governments across the board are beginning to take climate change seriously.
In early 2022, the Biden Administration passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which designated over $5 billion to build out the nation’s electric vehicle charging network under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. In the next few years, localities will have to step up their infrastructure planning to accommodate an influx of electric vehicles on the road.
That’s only one example of many that local governments will need to start planning for as the world transitions to clean, renewable energy to combat the climate crisis. Thankfully, there are a number of clean energy tools that governments can start investing in now to empower their climate action long into the future.
Clean Energy Tips for Local Government
Make the jump to on-site renewables.
On-site renewables, like solar and wind power, are the most popular way for cities to dip their toes into climate action. On-site renewables allow localities to own and operate their own renewable energy resources, helping to transform the traditional, fossil fuel-grid into a more sustainable, cleaner grid. Last year, solar was by far the most popular on-site renewable purchase - it comprised about 85 percent of on-site purchases for local governments.
Even the most-cash strapped local governments have an evergreen resource at their disposal: property. Local governments traditionally own a wide variety of properties that can discreetly house on-site renewables, including schools, municipal office buildings, community centers, and even public restroom facilities.
2. Don’t trash landfills.
A brownfield is a property that can’t be redeveloped or refurbished because of the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. The site of a former landfill or dumping ground is a great example. In many cases, that land is now unfit for most uses because it might be dangerously contaminated. We used to think brownfields were an unfortunate, unusable byproduct of consumption. And that’s a problem, because the EPA estimates that there are more than 450,000 brownfield sites across the U.S.
Now, policymakers and engineers are seeing their potential. Through something called RE-Powering, these former wastelands can be converted into productive sites for renewable energy, like solar, wind, or even geothermal.
The EPA notes that the RE-Power process boosts the local tax base, creates jobs, and turns blighted property into an ongoing economic engine. These positive by-products might not be the purpose of RE-Powering, according to climate advocates, but they certainly make on-site purchasing more palatable in a tense political environment.
3. Don’t be afraid to cross city lines.
Cities are strongest when they band together. Especially when neighbors combine forces, the sustainability impact multiplies. Often, competitors with similar energy needs and regulatory frameworks are better allies.
Recently, 49 Georgia localities worked through the Municipal Authority of Electricity Georgia, a corporate body, to greatly increase their solar capacity. Though none of the localities could manage a purchase of that scale on their own, when they worked together and teamed up with a powerful market presence, they made waves.
This massive expansion in solar infrastructure would not have been possible without cross-locality collaboration. Not only can this sort of collaboration improve individual purchasing power, but it can also create lasting advocacy partnerships, which can lead to change at the state and federal level.
4. Take it to the streets.
In 2020, there were nearly 1.2 million government cars and 1.7 million government trucks in government fleets around the United States. Vehicles are an important part of government business, from police cruisers to utility vans to solid waste trucks. Those millions of fossil-fuel burning vehicles obviously increase a locality’s carbon footprint, which is why more cities are incrementally converting their traditional fleet to a clean-energy option.
A report by Conexus Energy found that incorporating electric vehicles into local fleets, in particular, would decrease total cost of ownership (which includes fuel and maintenance cost) and reduce carbon emissions and petroleum fuel use. The cost and carbon savings make fleet conversion a great option for localities who want to reduce their existing carbon footprint in a way that’s easy to incorporate into a regular maintenance and replacement schedule.
If longer-term cost savings aren’t enough to convince localities to make the switch, then the U.S. Department of Energy wants to help. The department’s Vehicle Technologies Office has funded hundreds of fleet conversion projects, made possible through collaboration with the Clean Cities Coalition.
5. Don’t pass the cost on to residents.
If a resident is interested in taking climate action in their own lives, there are many options. However, some fixes have a higher up-front cost, barring entry for lower-income residents. Local governments can help alleviate this burden for residents, reducing their jurisdiction’s footprint without passing the cost on to folks who can’t afford it.
Using government purchasing power, non-profit partnerships, and engineering know-how, localities can help multiply the impact of a passionate resident. For example, local governments can create free or low-cost home weatherization programs, reducing the carbon footprint of older homes by improving energy efficiency. This might not improve local government infrastructure in the traditional sense, but a successful resilience support program sends the message that local government climate action is possible and impactful.
Local governments have a responsibility to collaborate, not compete, for climate change.
Despite the urge of some to hunker down and live off-grid in preparation for the ravaging effects of climate change, localities will not lose their relevance in the coming years. In fact, in the next decade, it’s projected that the percentage of the world population that lives in cities will increase by 13 percent.
As localities grow and more people compete for fewer resources, it’s easy to view building clean energy infrastructure as a competition. After all, residents and businesses will be more likely to choose to live in a locality that acknowledges and combats the effects of climate change.
The only race is against the clock.
With this in mind, localities must collaborate. Perhaps the easiest thing localities can do to begin their journey toward a sustainable clean energy infrastructure is to band together.
Local networks are already forming and proving fruitful. The Clean Cities Coalition Network is a great example. It’s made up of groups of municipalities from around the United States who are dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels, especially in vehicles. When local governments band together, on this issue and many more, they’ll be able to learn more and scale solutions.
Local governments are laboratories for climate change innovation.
Whether through smoggier days, more frigid winters, or higher rates of asthma, climate change’s effects will manage to touch everyone’s life. If we don’t take action, we’ll lose our chance to leave the world better than when we found it - for good.
This systemic issue requires a systemic solution, and local governments possess the flexibility, brainpower, and collaborative impulse to innovate until we collect enough tools in our toolbox to fix our world for good.
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