The city of Irvine became the first in Orange County and the third in the nation to set a target date to become “carbon neutral." The city council passed a resolution Tuesday with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
“California has already shown that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while creating jobs and transitioning to a clean energy economy. As exhibited in the City’s recently completed Strategic Energy Plan, there is an opportunity for Irvine to lead on the implementation of principles that will help the community reduce GHG emissions and become more resilient to climate change.”
The city’s decision came on the heels of a recent grim report on climate change by the United Nations. The study outlined extreme warnings over just the next 10 years.
“This report tells us that recent changes in the climate are widespread, rapid and intensifying, unprecedented in thousands of years,” IPCC Vice Chair Ko Barrett, senior climate adviser for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in an interview with the Associated Press.
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City officials said that Irvine is prepared to meet the challenge of the moment.
“We really are at a crisis point right now," Irvine Vice Mayor Tammy Kim said.
"I believe that Irvine can be the leader, or one of the leaders when it comes to our role in climate change."
The emissions resolution proposed several ways to help the city’s carbon neutrality goal such as making buildings more energy-efficient and installing more charging stations for electric vehicles.
California has its own long-term goal to become carbon neutral by 2045. However, given the state of climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on state agencies to expedite the goal by 10 years, to 2035.
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