Victory: Charlotte City Council unanimously passes Strategic Energy Action Plan

On December 17th, the Charlotte City Council voted unanimously in favor of the Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP). This historic vote places Charlotte on the path to source 100% of its energy used in its own buildings and fleet from zero-carbon sources by 2030 and dramatically reduce city-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

With this move, Charlotte has taken a major step in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and significantly increase the quality of life for residents by investing in our air quality and growing our economy with green jobs.

Thank you to everyone who contacted Council Members in support of the SEAP. The bipartisan, unanimous support the SEAP received is a testament to the hard work of Council Members, city staff, stakeholders and community members like you!

We applaud Council Member Dimple Ajmera, Chair of the Environment Committee, for her work to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, of which Sustain Charlotte was a member, to help develop the SEAP. Sustain Charlotte will continue to participate in the stakeholder process to help implement the SEAP, which contains short, medium and long terms actions to deliver deep reductions in carbon emissions spanning all sectors.

Watch the video of our remarks here!

Here is what we said at the meeting just before the vote:

Hi everyone. My name is Michael Zytkow. I am the Program Coordinator for Sustain Charlotte.

Sustain Charlotte is a community based non-profit organization dedicated to educating, engaging, and uniting our community to solve Charlotte’s sustainability challenges. Our mission is to inspire choices that lead to a healthy, equitable, and vibrant community for generations to come.

I am here tonight to express my organization’s support for the Strategic Energy Action Plan, a plan that will move the City of Charlotte to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero-carbon sources by 2030 and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the city.

With the unanimous approval of the “Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte” Resolution in June and the passage of the SEAP tonight, 2018 stands to be remembered as the year we worked to build a stronger, more prosperous, city.

A city dedicated to improving our air quality and overall health.

A city dedicated to growing our economy with high-paying green jobs

A city prepared to lead on the important issues.

With 44 – 60 people moving to Charlotte each day, it’s critical that we make land use and transportation decisions that promote smart growth and sustainability.

This is a major undertaking, but we are not alone. We are joining thousands of other cities and regions in this effort.

And we have so many wonderful people to thank for getting us here.

I want to thank all of the amazing stakeholders. We are truly lucky in this community to have so many dedicated individuals and organizations.

I want to thank all of the council members, especially the Environment Committee, and our champion on the Environment Committee, Councilmember Ajmera.

I want to thank our City’s staff, especially the Sustainability office.

Thanks to the great work of Dr. Sebastian Carney.

I especially want to thank Emily Yates of Envision Charlotte who played such a critical role in crafting the SEAP.

I’m really eager to implement this plan and with all of our continued support in the community and your continued support I’m incredibly confident we can reach our goals.

Thanks for reading!

As a nonprofit, community support is essential for us to keep doing what we do — including providing free articles like this. If you found this article helpful, please consider supporting Sustain Charlotte.

Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.