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Council previews draft 'Climate Action Newark' plan; staff outlines strategies to meet state‑aligned targets
Summary
City staff presented a draft update to Newark’s 2010 climate action plan (Climate Action Newark) that aligns with state greenhouse gas reduction goals and identifies 28 strategies and 95 actions; four strategies account for an estimated 91% of projected reductions.
City staff and consultants presented a draft update to Newark’s Climate Action Plan, branded Climate Action Newark (CAN), during the June 26 council meeting and said the draft will be released for public comment later this summer with a final plan expected for council consideration this fall.
Environmental Services Division Manager James Scanlon said the update aligns local strategies with state greenhouse‑gas reduction targets and the city’s own interim goals. Scanlon summarized draft city targets of roughly 58% below 2022 emission levels by 2035 and 88% below 2022 levels by 2045, and said state and federal regulations already account for much of the baseline reductions. The draft CAN, Scanlon said, focuses on municipal and community strategies to close the remaining reduction gap.
Scanlon described six focus areas—energy transition and efficiency; sustainable on‑ and off‑road transportation; responsible use of resources; nature‑based solutions and urban greening; community capacity and resilience; and municipal operations—and highlighted that staff identified 28 strategies and 95 actions. He said four strategies alone would produce an estimated 91% of the plan’s local emissions reductions: electrifying and decarbonizing buildings, expanding clean energy generation and use, accelerating adoption of zero‑emission vehicles and promoting responsible waste management.
On measurement methods, project consultant Hannah Kornfeld of Ascent Environmental explained how inventories are constructed: "Greenhouse gas emissions are not typically measured like you would see for air pollutants... we instead look at what are the activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions," then multiply activity levels by emissions factors to estimate totals and to model reductions from proposed measures.
Staff said public engagement has informed the draft, that the city will provide charts showing expected emissions reductions from individual strategies, and that staff will return with implementation schedules and monitoring approaches. The council and staff discussed coordinating the plan with related efforts, including an upcoming urban forest master plan, an active transportation plan and the city’s facilities master plan.
The draft will be posted for public review and comment; staff recommended later this year for final council consideration and adoption.
