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City of Knoxville outlines "Breathe" climate planning work and regional engagement
Summary
City of Knoxville sustainability staff updated the committee on the Breathe project, a locally led Climate Pollution Reduction Grant planning effort covering nine counties; staff plan working-group engagement and a December deliverable.
City of Knoxville sustainability staff briefed the committee on Breathe, the region's Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) process, including recent working-group work and next steps for developing an implementation-ready Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP).
Grace Levine, City of Knoxville sustainability coordinator and the project lead, told the committee the federal CPRG program has provided $5 billion in grants nationally; Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) received $3 million for a statewide plan and the City of Knoxville received $1 million for a metro-area plan covering nine counties (Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union).
Levine said the project is moving from an initial priority-climate-action plan completed in March 2024 to a more comprehensive CCAP that will analyze emissions sources and sinks, set targets and include implementation details. She said the project convened working groups in late 2024 and will begin a second phase of working-group engagement in April to detail implementing authority, subactions and metrics of success. ‘‘We're working towards a deadline of December 1 for completing the required comprehensive climate action plan,’’ Levine said.
Levine emphasized many measures under consideration implicate local government roles and assets — for example fleet electrification, public charging infrastructure, street and road design, transit-oriented development and transportation demand management. She also described public engagement plans (pledge campaigns and tabling events) and asked committee members to help identify local outreach opportunities.
The item was informational; no committee action was required.
Why it matters: transportation is a major source of greenhouse-gas emissions; many measures in the CCAP intersect with local transportation planning, fleet policies and infrastructure investments.
What's next: staff will convene working groups in April and continue public engagement; the CCAP deliverable is due Dec. 1, 2025.
