Brunswick launches five-year countdown to reduce emissions

As Brunswick enters a new year, it begins a five-year countdown to the first step of the Climate Action Plan adopted last month.

Brunswick’s plan, which city councilors adopted in December, aims to reduce emissions by 65% ​​by 2030. While the plan also includes guidelines for conservation and building resilience, the initiative targets largely greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute significantly to climate change.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases contribute to global warming and are fueled by human activity, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and other leading scientific organizations. Certain Maine entities such as Central Maine Energy We already suspect that climate change is impacting regions like the Midcoast by causing more extreme weather.

As Earth approaches tipping point tipping points which lead to irreversible effects of climate change, communities like Brunswick are trying to play their part in reducing the impact.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

Plan Highlights

The plan could influence how policies are made and follows a series of measures taken by the city council to combat climate change.

In 2022, Brunswick doubled down on its commitment to action and joined the Community Resilience Partnership, a program managed by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and received a $50,000 grant to develop the adopted plan last month.

The nearly 300-page document identifies seven community sectors – municipal, housing, transportation, energy, natural resources, community health and waste – as areas for improvement.

Reduce emissions

Overall, the plan advocates for reduced emissions both within municipal government and the broader community.

The plan uses 2022 emissions data as a baseline. This year, production exceeded 251,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with municipal and school operations accounting for 2% of emissions.

An emitter known as “stationary energy” – or emissions from commercial and residential buildings – accounted for 53% of 2022 output. Commercial buildings contributed the most, with 68,366 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the plan. Residential buildings emitted 62,487 metric tons, with fuels like propane, kerosene and wood accounting for more than half of that figure.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

This was followed by transportation, which contributed 41% of 2022 emissions. Gasoline-powered passenger vehicles accounted for the majority of these emissions, producing 67,563 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, more than residential buildings emitted the same year.

To meet Brunswick’s 2030 goal, the city would need to limit its emissions to approximately 88,176 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. The city is also targeting net zero emissions at the municipal level by 2040 and net zero emissions community-wide by 2050.

Achieving these goals would involve tackling some of Brunswick’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. The plan calls for phasing out fossil fuel-based heating and cooling systems in newly constructed municipal facilities, moving toward more environmentally friendly equipment, vehicles and charging stations, and promotion of more sustainable modes of travel.

The plan encourages the use of renewable energy sources in new construction projects where possible. The plan suggests that the city study possible policies and incentives to promote “green development” in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, as well as find financial incentives to reduce the cost of installing heating and cooling systems electricity in low-income housing.

Reduce waste and build resilience

Although emissions are the main focus of the plan, other climate-friendly goals are included in the plan, including reducing waste, using local and sustainable food sources, and continuing to a more circular economy – a type of production and consumption cycle that extends the life of materials. The plan also touches on promoting localsustainable, plant-based food options at local schools and restaurants.

One of the plan’s goals is to conserve at least 40% of community lands by 2050. The conservation effort would focus on areas that are unfragmented and rich in biodiversity, such as coastal lands and forests. To do this, the plan states that the city could strengthen its ordinances that prevent rural sprawl and “forest fragmentation” that can accompany residential development – a concern that has been raised by some residents in cases of registration and housing development last year.

However, this also suggests that the city “eencourage the creation of neighborhoods” bringing together different types of housing within walking distance of amenities such as public transportation and grocery stores.

Other suggested initiatives include expanding sustainable wastewater treatment practices, updating emergency management plans with information on climate hazards, and monitoring species in local ecosystems to track the climate impact.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

The result of the “status quo”

If Brunswick took no action to reduce emissions, the plan projects that emissions from buildings and transportation would decrease by 29%, but only by 2050.

This projection is based on modeling software, ClearPath, which created emissions forecasts using 2022 data. The model said it took into account factors such as population decline as reasons why emissions could further decrease.

Interested parties can read the entire approved plan on the Brunswick website. city ​​website.

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