Plans for Columbus to be carbon neutral by 2050 set in motion
Columbus Mayor, Andrew Ginther set a goal for Columbus to be carbon neutral by 2050. For a city of around 900,000 people to reduce energy use, Mayor Ginther said it will have to be a group effort, but steps are already being taken to make carbon neutrality possible for the city. (WSYX/WTTE)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) — Columbus Mayor, Andrew Ginther set a goal for Columbus to be carbon neutral by 2050. For a city of around 900,000 people to reduce energy use, Mayor Ginther said it will have to be a group effort, but steps are already being taken to make carbon neutrality possible for the city.
"In the City of Columbus, we believe in science, and we believe that climate change is a threat to our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Andrew Ginther said.
In his “State of the City” address Thursday night, Ginther set his plan in motion for Columbus to be a leader in renewable energy.
"Especially since we have a federal government and state government that aren't doing anything about it, and quite frankly going the opposite direction in embracing science and doing something about climate change,” Ginther said.
Carbon neutrality by 2050 is a goal shared by Ohio State.
Associate Director of Ohio State's Sustainability Institute, Mike Shelton said one step for OSU is to reduce the energy used by campus buildings, whereas Columbus as whole has a much bigger challenge when it comes to transportation and making the city more accessible.
"But certainly, it's almost impossible to reduce that number to zero, so for example the university includes air travel in our emission count. Right now, there's no alternative energy source that allows you to fly in a plane without creating emission,” Shelton said.
Those emissions can be offset with widespread but simple actions, such as planting more trees, walking or biking instead of driving, using less power, and switching to led lights. A key step will be purchasing energy from renewable sources. Ginther wants to put it on the ballot this November.
"It will help us to get to 100% renewable energy that we use in our homes by 2022,” Ginther said. “Everybody has something to contribute and can do something to help us get to that goal of being carbon neutral by 2050."
"Carbon neutrality is possible. It's not easy. It will take a lot of people being engaged, and we hope to be a part of that, and we're really excited that the city is taking this on,” Shelton said.
Another one of the mayor's goals in making Columbus more sustainable was to do 30,000 energy audits by the end of this year, but he said 20,000 audits have already been completed. This helps homeowners save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
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