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Climate Sustainability     Plan

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Wilmington's Climate Sustainability Plan

A sustainable future for Wilmington will foster a livable and vibrant city; and a city that is committed to reducing its impact on global climate change.  While the city recognizes that Wilmington’s actions alone are far too small to impact global greenhouse gas emissions trends, as part of the coalition of cities throughout the country that have joined to address this important issue, our actions can make a difference.  Wilmington also recognizes that the cost to the city of inaction could be very high and that inaction would represent a missed opportunity for saving money and improving the economic, environmental and social sustainability of our city.

The projected impacts on Wilmington from climate change include sea level rise and the effects of extreme weather: increased frequency and severity of hurricanes; increased occurrences of flooding events; and increased occurrences and lengths of droughts.  Another anticipated impact includes an increase in the number of days with temperatures over 100 degrees.  Dealing with each of the impacts will involve costly infrastructure and response.

The efforts of the City in addressing climate change will benefit the residents of Wilmington through improved air quality, improved quality of life from a more walkable and bikable city, and through taxpayer dollars saved resulting from energy cost savings. 

An effective Climate Change Strategy will help create a strong sense of community pride in Wilmington’s efforts to protect the environment from the impacts of global warming.

In 2006, Mayor James Baker signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Under the Agreement, Wilmington has committed to take actions that strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol target*.  As of November 1, 2007, there were more than 710 signatories to the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Wilmington will take a three-pronged approach in its Climate Change Strategy. The City will address opportunities for energy footprint reductions:

1. by the business & development community;
2. by the City’s residents; and
3. by the City in its own operations.

In all its efforts, measurement will be a key feature.  Greenhouse gas emission baselines are being developed in 2008; all activities will include indicators with numerical goals to enable the City to measure and report to its citizens on progress.

* The target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol is a 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012.