By Abukar Adan
Maine Public news story
Portland is joining forces with South Portland to develop a collaborative climate action plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Troy Moon, Portland’s sustainability coordinator, presented the plan before the City Council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee on Thursday.
Moon, who has been working on the plan for six months, says their goal of reducing CO2 emissions 80 percent by 2050 is no easy task.
“Achieving 80 by 50 reductions will require basically a transformation of how we do business as a society. We’re so reliant on carbon-based fuels now. In order to meet those reductions, we need to find a different way to do things,” he says.
But he says curbing high levels of emissions is possible through a collaborative effort.
The proposed plan would cost each city $110,000 and would take place over the next 18 months. Pending approval, the cities would hire a qualified consultant, engage key stakeholders and draft the final plans.
Public comments were not taken at the presentation.
