Earlier this week, Aspen City Council heard an update on how the community can reach its lofty goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It's going to take some teamwork.
The City of Aspen has seen a 7 percent reduction in emissions over the past 10 years. That’s not even halfway to its target of a 30 percent reduction by 2020. So the city’s climate action department worked with local governments, businesses and utilities to write a new plan. It includes 46 action items to move the needle on emissions.
Some of these action items will look familiar — like promoting the use of bicycles or electric vehicles. But others are newer, like exploring smart technology in second homes so they don’t use energy when they’re unoccupied.
The new plan also considers more regional actions, like working with local utilities to increase renewable energy options and generating more clean energy closer to home. Governments across the valley, including Pitkin County and Basalt, have recently adopted climate action plans as well.
