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Charlotte aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, delays some climate goals

Charlotte’s LEED-certified Firehouse 43 opened in 2020 and is powered, at least in part, by the sun.
Charlotte Office of Sustainability and Resilience
Charlotte’s LEED-certified Firehouse 43 opened in 2020 and is powered, at least in part, by the sun.

The Charlotte Office of Sustainability and Resilience is updating its Strategic Energy Action Plan, or SEAP. The plan includes climate action goals, such as cutting carbon emissions from the city’s buildings and fleet by 2030.

The sustainability office told a City Council committee on Monday that it has delayed some objectives, like lowering emissions from its vehicle fleet. Now, the city plans to reduce or offset all carbon pollution from light-duty vehicles by 2035.

It also adds a new interim target for communitywide goals that resembles the state’s. Charlotte will reduce carbon pollution by 72% by 2035 and eliminate or offset all communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This includes all emission sources, such as food waste and transportation.

The current proposal delays some targets, adds new goals and modifies the existing goals. When the city adopted the original SEAP in 2018, the City Council set a goal of bringing annual community-wide emissions below 2 tons of carbon per person. In many countries, per capita carbon emissions are declining, but Americans still pollute more per person than anywhere else. The average American emitted close to 14 tons last year. In 2015, Charlotte residents averaged 12.3 tons.

Here is a list of the current goals and how they would change in the updated SEAP:

  • Current SEAP: The city will reduce per capita communitywide emissions to 2 tons by 2050. 
  • SEAP +: Charlotte will reduce or offset all communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This includes all citywide emission sources, such as food waste and transportation. 
  • SEAP +: Sets an interim target of reducing communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 72% by 2035. That means reducing per capita carbon emissions to 3.56 tons. 
  • Current SEAP: Source 100% of energy for buildings and the city fleet from carbon-free fuels. 
  • SEAP +: The city will source 100% of its electricity in municipal buildings from carbon-free fuels. Back-up generators and heating may still rely on natural gas or other fossil fuels to run. All municipal buildings will achieve net-zero by 2050. 
  • SEAP +: The city will reduce or offset all emissions from its light-duty fleet by 2035. This includes vehicles like cars, small trucks and street sweepers. It will reduce or offset the remaining vehicles, like garbage trucks and school buses, by 2050.

The Office of Sustainability also proposed installing 600 megawatts of renewable energy sources, namely solar, by 2035.

“Community-wide goals are certainly something that we have influence over, but they are not ours alone,” said Sarah Hazel, Charlotte’s chief sustainability officer. “It will take an all-of-society approach to achieve these goals.”

A community effort to reduce climate risk

Charlotte has already made some progress since it began working on its plan in 2020. In a ranking of 75 large American cities, Charlotte moved up from 68 to 25 for its clean energy initiatives.

Many of the plan’s community-wide goals rely on people adopting new technologies like electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar panels. The city can encourage people to make that choice through programs like Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg or Power Down the Crown.

There are also a couple of immediate hurdles the city faces in meeting these goals. Commissioner Ed Driggs said the success of Charlotte’s one-cent sales tax may determine whether Charlotte can transition its fleet in time to meet its target.

But now, Charlotte will have to navigate state and federal governments that are divided on clean energy. For example, Gov. Josh Stein recently announced a new home energy rebate program to make electrifying the home more affordable and accessible to low-to-moderate-income households. During the same month, President Trump issued an executive order that pushed for a repeal of federal tax credits for electric vehicles.

“A lot of what happens to Charlotte’s climate is not going to be affected by us,” Driggs said. “What is the extent to which forces we don’t control, whether it’s within Charlotte or in the country, are going to define what we can accomplish?”

Driggs said it might be time for the city to incentivize more climate-friendly development.

“It could come down to our willingness to commit,” Driggs said. “Is the city prepared to make investments by offering incentives to help us achieve that goal?”

The city regularly gives businesses grants, loans and other financial incentives to developers to influence where and how they build. Last December, Charlotte City Council approved a $19 million subsidy for Providence Square in South Charlotte.

The Office of Sustainability and Resilience is planning on putting the updated plan before City Council in April.

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Zachary Turner is a climate reporter and author of the WFAE Climate News newsletter. He freelanced for radio and digital print, reporting on environmental issues in North Carolina.
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