The Durham County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Local Action Plan is a joint effort of the City of Durham, Durham County, and the DCHC MPO. The plan consists of an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in the county, a forecast of 2030 emissions, an evaluation of measures to reduce emissions, and an implementation plan to achieve emission targets. The plan was adopted by the Durham City Council and the Durham County Board of Commissioners on September 19, 2007 and adopted by the Transportation Advisory Committee of the DCHC MPO on October 10, 2007. ICLEI Energy Services from Toronto, Canada was the consultant for the plan.
Background
The City of Durham is a participant in ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign. ICLEI is an organization of local governments committed to sustainability. The CCP campaign enlists cities to adopt policies and adopt measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More than 150 cities, towns, and counties in the United States and over 600 municipalities worldwide participate in this campaign. The Durham County greenhouse gas plan will help the City fulfill its commitment to climate change mitigation. For more information on the CCP campaign, click on this link: ICLEI CCP Campaign
The City of Durham website for the Greenhouse Gas Plan includes more information about the draft plan, what action citizens can take, and what action local governments can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the results of an online survey is posted. City of Durham Greenhouse Gas Plan Website
Advisory Group and Technical Team
The greenhouse gas plan is guided by an advisory group and a technical team that have been created for the project. The advisory group consists of elected officials and staff from the city and county, staff from the NC Department of Air Quality, citizens, environmental advocates, representatives of major employers and business organizations, and representatives of energy providers. The advisory group’s role is to guide the policy aspects of the plan. The technical team consists of staff from the city, county, and state. The technical team’s role is to provide technical expertise in the many areas that this plan will affect such as fleet and facilities management, utilities, energy consumption, land use planning, transportation, etc.
Meetings and Project Schedule
The advisory group and technical teams met on March 23, 2006 to kick-off the project. To view the presentation from the first meetings click here: Presentation (2 MB)
The committees met on September 28, 2006 to review the draft emissions inventory. The Draft Emissions Inventory (2 MB) includes greenhouse gas emissions from municipal and county operations, institutions, and the private sector within Durham County.
The committees met on November 14 and 15, 2006. At these meetings, the committees began to discuss the emissions reduction target and strategies. The documents below were used to inform the committee on this discussion.
Overview of Inventory and Measures (62 KB) – This summarizes the results of the inventory and lists existing and planned emission reduction strategies in Durham.
Best Practices for Climate Protection: Local Government Guide (1 MB)– This lists several emission reduction strategies that other US cities are using to reduce GHG emissions from both the community and local government operations. ICLEI will provide additional and new ideas for strategies at our meeting as well.
GHG Reduction Target Setting (34 KB) – This is an overview of how cities in Canada and the United States have set reduction targets.
The committees met on March 1, 2007. At these meetings, the committees reviewed a revised draft of the report. This report includes a revised emissions inventory and a draft local action plan. ICLEI has produced a memo describing the latest report. Memo on February 22, 2007 Draft Report (19 KB) The draft local action plan demonstrates three levels of emissions targets with corresponding levels of reduction measures. February 22, 2007 Draft Report (669 KB)
The committees met on May 22, 2007 to review a revised report, recommend a emission target based on the report, and discuss the public forum. May 4, 2007 Draft Report (807 KB)
Public Forum
A public forum was held on June 21, 2007 in the Council Chambers at Durham City Hall. At this forum, the draft report was presented and members of the public provided input on the emissions reduction target and recommended strategies.
Adoption
The plan was adopted by the Durham City Council and the Durham County Board of County Commissioners on September 19, 2007 and adopted by the Transportation Advisory Committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization on October 10, 2007.
Relationship to Other Plans
This plan is an update of the 1999 City of Durham Greenhouse Gas Emissions Local Action Plan.
Orange County is also in the process of creating a greenhouse gas plan. David Stancil, Orange County Director of Environment and Resource Conservation, may be contacted at
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How Can I Get More Information or Provide Comments?
You can contact:
Ellen Beckmann Transportation Planner City of Durham Transportation Div. Telephone – (919) 560-4366 Fax – (919) 560-4561 E-mail – Mail – 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701
