We're at a point where it's getting more and more challenging to pretend that the climate crisis isn't looming over us. No amount of climate change denial can stop the wheels that are already in motion, as sea levels rise, snowcaps melt, urban flooding and temperature changes occur across the world, diseases and illnesses of all kinds begin to affect populations, air quality worsens, and all types of disastrous effects take place.
In recent years, hundreds of cities across the US committed to curbing climate change through extensive climate plans—however, their plans are falling short of what's truly required.
While previous efforts have proven insufficient in averting the climate crisis, there is immense progress on this front. In November 2021, the Miami City Commission voted unanimously to approve the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan. Miami Forever Carbon Neutral is a comprehensive plan to fast-track Miami's goals for achieving carbon neutrality.
It's a landmark plan that outlines how the city will take a science-driven approach to revamp its infrastructure, practices, and policies to address the primary culprit behind climate change, GHG. The interim goal is to cut emissions by 60% from 2018 and achieve this goal by 2035.
The city plans to go GREEN, addressing the issue in a holistic, cohesive way, focusing on multiple factors and facets of carbon emissions, approaching the following:
- G – Getting around Miami
- R – Renewable Energy
- E – Electric Vehicles
- E – Energy Efficiency
- N – New Green Economy
These measures and the overall plan go above and beyond simply reducing emissions. The goal isn't just to lead to zero carbon emissions but to create a sustainable, stable, and thriving local economy and climate justice. This means a large portion of the focus is also on demonstrating how job opportunities, business and enterprise, and the overall standard of living do not need to suffer or be compromised. The goal is to show that life can and will thrive under these measures.
The plan also outlines how the City of Miami will keep track of these goals and progress, conducting GHG inventory every two years. They'll cover both goal-level metrics and action-level metrics that include measures like electrifying the local vehicle fleet, switching over to sustainable energy like solar power, and changes at the policy level.
Miami Forever Carbon Neutral is perfectly aligned with the globally accepted Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rises in check. To say it's exciting to see how Miami is stepping up with such incredible plans and finally moving toward a sustainable future and life for future generations is an understatement.
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