On July 12, the county council unanimously passed a resolution adopting the draft climate action plan (CAP), submitted to it in January by the Prince George’s Climate Action Commission, with the goals of preparing for and mitigating against the effects of regional climate change.
The county council adopted the CAP and established goals of reducing county-wide emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2013 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. The county’s department of the environment will lead the implementation of the plan’s 26 priority recommendations, which include strategies for reducing carbon emissions, conserving trees and open spaces, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, expanding flood mitigation, conducting vulnerability assessments and increasing community engagement. The plan also calls for establishing resilience hubs, centers that support the community by coordinating communications and distributing resources with an eye to reducing carbon pollution.
Amendments to the draft, introduced and accepted by the county council, stipulate achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, in line with the state’s Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, and revising the target for reaching carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2045. The approved amendments also include recognizing that the CAP is a dynamic plan that will need to be revised to stay current with rapidly changing events and will depend, to some extent, on new legislation; supporting the creation of a climate action implementation task force and a resident advisory group; supporting the county public schools climate action plan; and requiring status reports to the council on at least an annual basis.
