Consultants present City of Muskegon climate action plan aiming for municipal net-zero by 2040

Fresh Coast Climate Solutions and city staff presented the City of Muskegon’s Climate Action Plan to the commission June 10, framing a municipal goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from city operations by 2040.

Becca Elder, senior technical analyst at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions, told the commission the plan — commonly called a CAP — contains five focus areas (buildings and facilities, vehicles, waste, land use and resiliency, and implementation), 18 objectives and 97 actions. She said the plan is accompanied by a detailed FY 2024 greenhouse gas inventory and an implementation matrix that prioritizes actions, flags funding opportunities and notes potential savings.

"The climate action plan... establishes a roadmap for achieving net 0 greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations by 2040," Elder said in the presentation. She highlighted plan features that include action tables with expected benefits, prioritization, timelines and appendix-level implementation guidance for individual measures.

Peter Wills, director of government relations and strategic operations, and Mayor Kenneth D. Johnson thanked the consultants and staff and said the plan builds on the commission’s 2023 climate emergency declaration and a previously completed greenhouse gas audit. Wills said the city and department heads participated in the greenhouse gas inventory and that staff will use the implementation matrix to inform future budget and policy decisions.

Commissioners had no additional questions at the general-session presentation; the consultant said a public implementation matrix and inventory workbook are available on the city website. No formal adoption vote was recorded during the presentation segment of the meeting.