When Decatur made some last-minute revisions in its fiscal year 2020-21 budget, it set aside $150,000 for the city’s first-ever clean energy plan. The item took up all of one sentence in a city commission agenda package, but City Manager Andrea Arnold felt it significant enough to verbally highlight during a recent commission meeting.
“We’ll start the process on a clean energy plan in 2021,” she said during an interview with the AJC. “I don’t know how long it will take. But that is just a smaller piece of the overall larger Comprehensive Climate Action Plan that will come out of the Strategic Plan.”
Because of COVID-19, work on the 2020 Strategic Plan was delayed for months before resuming in October. The city’s now conducting a series of “virtual forums,” whose predominant topics include equity and racial justice, civic trust, housing, transportation, economic development and climate change.
A final strategic plan, originally scheduled for submission to city commissioners this fall, probably won’t wrap until sometime in the first half of 2021.
The clean energy plan has a fairly narrow focus of energy efficiency in city buildings and city vehicles. This could mean things like building upgrades in lighting, heating and air conditioning, and possibly switching to hybrid or electric vehicles.
The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan is far broader.
“I’m certainly no expert,” Arnold said, “but clean energy is direct emission, and the climate plan also includes indirect emission like waste water, food waste, construction waste. It will still include vehicles but it goes beyond city vehicles. For instance, the average Decatur home takes eight to 10 vehicle trips daily. So, part of a climate plan would be to try and reduce that by offering something like, perhaps, a citywide shuttle.
“But it’s not only about trying to reduce emissions,” she added, “but about preparing the community for the climate change ahead. We have to figure out ways to be more resilient as a community and less reactive.”
About the Author
