Bangor city councilors on Monday approved a plan for how the region can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and increase its resilience to the effects of climate change.
The Penobscot Climate Action Plan was developed through a partnership with 10 regional communities: Bangor, Bradley, Brewer, Hampden, Hermon, Milford, Penobscot Indian Island, Old Town, Orono, Orrington and Veazie.
Officials from Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System, the University of Maine, the town of Orono and other involved communities took more than two years to build the plan.
The plan includes 10 recommended changes or tactics communities can use to become more environmentally friendly. Some of those ideas could also bolster economic growth and reduce costs for taxpayers, said Maddie Jensen, who sits on the advisory committee for the Penobscot Climate Action group, which developed the plan.
The local plan aligns with the statewide “Maine Won’t Wait” plan to make the state more resilient to climate change. The statewide model set the goal of reducing Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030, 80 percent by 2050 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
The regional plan presents ideas for communities and supports the statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals, but does not require the region to take specific actions.
The Penobscot Climate Action Plan was developed after a greenhouse gas inventory revealed 60 percent of the region’s carbon emissions come from buildings’ energy use and 30 percent come from transportation, said Jensen, who is also a planner for the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System.
“I think people see climate change as not being personal and practical,” she said. “Bangor itself can’t fix climate change, but there are things we can do to make us more resilient to the effects of it, like rising sea levels that cause flooding.”
The plan’s suggested changes include promoting and improving public transportation, making downtowns more walkable and improving homes to make them more environmentally friendly.
For example, Jensen said communities can offer incentives for homeowners to install heat pumps, which are powered by electricity. This would reduce a community’s reliance on fossil fuels for heat and give residents the ability to cool their homes as the weather warms.
“By 2085, it’s estimated that up to three weeks of the year will be over 100 degrees,” Jensen said. “This region isn’t prepared for that.”
The plan also recommends making proactive changes that will protect the region’s infrastructure from symptoms of climate change, such as rising sea levels and stronger storms. Doing so, Jensen said, will save communities money down the road.
Jensen also hopes the climate plan will encourage local officials to collaborate when applying for available federal grants intended to support environmental projects. Applying as a region, Jensen said, will be a more competitive application than if communities apply individually.
The Bangor City Council’s approval makes the climate plan part of the city’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan, which guides what community leaders and residents want Bangor to look like as it grows and changes over time.
