The Sustainability Office released its new revised Climate Equity Plan for public comment Wednesday, with hopes to submit the plan to City Council in October. The 97-page document, which is available through the city’s engagement portal, outlines the Sustainability Office’s plans to decrease the city’s impact on the climate. The original plan, which was called […]
climate change
Posted inWater
City could store three Lake Austins’ worth of water underground by 2040
Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step toward storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin survive as the climate crisis threatens traditional water supplies. With this technique, called aquifer storage […]
Posted inEnvironment
City reworks its Community Climate Plan through an equity lens
Five years ago, Austin’s Office of Sustainability began implementing its 2030 Community Climate Plan in order to work toward the city’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Now, the department is revising its plan to update metrics and advance the city’s ambitious emissions goals with a commitment to racial equity. Zach Baumer, the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Travis County approves its first climate action plan
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a comprehensive climate action plan that outlines how to reduce the county’s environmental footprint through 82 recommendations. Commissioner Brigid Shea, who called the plan a “big deal,” told the Austin Monitor that although the plan already has initiatives outlined to reduce the county’s carbon footprint, they […]
Posted inAustin
UT professor maps climate vulnerability in Austin
Communities within Austin are disproportionately affected by climate change based on their social vulnerability. Social vulnerability refers to a community’s sensitivity to natural hazards and community members’ capacity to rebound from natural disasters. In a study by Patrick Bixler with the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, 18 variables of social vulnerability were […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin joins a handful of cities where carbon emissions have fallen in recent years
Austin is among 30 cities worldwide where emissions have peaked, according to a new analysis from a coalition of cities dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The group, C40, defines “peaked” as having emissions fall by at least 10 percent since before 2015. On average, the 30 cities on the list, which includes New York, […]
Posted inEnvironment
The heat in Austin could outpace science’s ability to measure it by 2036
This July is on track to be Earth’s hottest month ever recorded. That spike in heat is part of a larger warming trend that could change the way governments and researchers measure extreme temperatures. When it comes to triple-digit days in Austin, last century we averaged about 13 annually, but this century, we’re averaging 38 […]