Columbia released Climate Action and Adaption Plan draft

The City of Columbia released a draft of its Climate Action and Adaption Plan, or CAAP, on Monday.

The plan aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from Columbia and prepare the natural and built-up areas of the city for a changing climate.

Barbara Buffaloe, sustainability manager for the City of Columbia, explained what this plan is.

“The Climate Action and Adaptation plan is basically a roadmap that is setting the actions, the community should take for reaching the community goals for reducing greenhouse gas emission, and also preparing ourselves to be resilient for a changing climate,” Buffaloe said.

The city has goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. According to the CAAP draft, that goal is accepted by many cities, states and countries preparing for carbon neutrality by 2060. The “80×50” goal is also aligned with the Paris Agreement and scientific understanding of climate change.

Buffaloe mentioned funding for the new projects will be decided when each new task is started.

“This is the plan to help set council’s direction,” Buffaloe said. “So then, after council adopts the plan, we’ll say, ‘What are your priorities?’ and we’ll figure out the funding strategies for them.”

She also said that some of the new tasks are already funded from previous initiatives.

A taskforce appointed by the mayor worked with community stakeholders and the public to create a plan that works for Columbia

The plan is focused on six specific sectors:

Energy Waste Natural resources Transportation Housing, building and development Health, safety and well-being

Buffaloe mentioned that citizens of Columbia may see more trees being planted and more information regarding carbon emissions because of the plan, but hopes this just becomes the norm.

“My hope is that it will just become business as usual,” Buffaloe said. “So it won’t be all the sudden you are walking down the street and everything looks different.”

A goal in the transportation sector is to reduce the number of trips individuals take in their cars. Buffaloe explained how the city could tackle this issue.

“We are looking at how we can encourage other types of transportation vehicles: bikes, walking, or maybe even mass transit or carpooling.”

One of the goals in the housing, building and development sector is to increase energy efficiency in residential buildings.

Another priority goal under the building sector is to create policies for city buildings, including schools, to reduce energy usage by 20 percent in the next five years.

The director of community relations for Columbia Public Schools, Michelle Baumstark, said school officials are used to working with the city about building standards.

“It’s not a new process for us to continue to have conversations with the city and the county when it comes to our facilities,” Baumstark said.

She said the district has been working on reducing its impact over the past few years.

“This is something that is not new for us, we have continued over the past 10 years, if not before, really having a focus on energy efficiency within our buildings,” Baumstark said.

Baumstark mentioned that all of the district’s new buildings are built with the environment in mind, and many of its older building are being renovated to meet the environmental standards.

She mentioned that it’s not just creating more efficient buildings. Columbia Public Schools wants to teach how to live sustainably.

“Not only do we as an organization and a government entity make sure that we are doing our part with our planning and our implementation of things, but also as an educational organization that we are sharing information with our families and our students.”

In this draft phase, the city is looking for feedback from anyone in the the community. There is a survey on the city’s website any individual can take. They expect for the council to approve the plan June 17.