Carbon-free electricity
The plan aims to make buildings more energy efficient and power them with carbon-free electricity. It also calls for better mobility choices to reduce reliance on automobiles, and for making cars, trucks and buses via zero emissions.
In 2018, Arlington’s Select Board adopted a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas pollution by 2050. That same year, the board created the Clean Energy Future Committee to guide the town’s efforts to reach that goal.
In September 2019, the committee began work on a Net Zero Action Plan, and on Feb. 26, 2021, completed the plan. Continuing to implement the plan requires dedication from the town and residents over the next 30 years. The plan builds on nearly 20 years of town progress on emissions reductions and serves as an organizing framework on our path to net zero that Arlington will revisit and adjust in the coming years.
“The Net Zero Action Plan gives us a clear roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. I applaud the hard work of the Clean Energy Future Committee for successfully writing this plan over many months” said Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said in a March 9 news release.
“The Department of Planning and Community Development played a major supporting role in the creation of the Net Zero Action Plan,” said Director Jennifer Raitt. “We look forward to this new phase of helping the Town implement the Plan in the months and years to come.”
Partnered with MAPC
The Town of Arlington partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to develop the plan. The Clean Energy Future Committee, supported by planning and MAPC, sought input from numerous community groups and individuals, including town departments, boards and committees, as well as business, civic and faith groups. A net-zero survey in June 2020 and a Net Zero Virtual Open House in November 2020 elicited input from more than 1,000 residents about what to include in the plan.
This project was supported by a Planning Assistance Grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, as well as matching funds and technical support from MAPC and Arlington.
In addition, the project included creating a greenhouse-gas inventory detailing all sources of such pollution from the Town of Arlington. The plan and inventory are available from the Clean Energy Future Committee at here >>
The committee plans to present the plan at a public meeting of the Select Board in the coming months. For more information about Arlington’s plan, contact Ken Pruitt, energy and project manager, at 781-316-3428 or at kpruitt at town.arlington.ma.us.
This news announcement was published Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
