Louisville became the first city in Kentucky to commit to 100 percent renewable energy. In a resolution, the Louisville Metro Council Parks and Sustainability Committee approved a goal of powering the city’s municipal operations with 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2035.
In a final vote of 15-4, the Metro Council passed the resolution in an attempt to “tackle the challenge of climate change head on and with visionary leadership,” a press release stated. The resolution also aims to be 100 percent clean energy community-wide by 2040.
“I could not be more pleased with the outcome,” Nancy Givens, member of Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville who had a leading role in drafting the resolution, said. “My hope is that Louisville’s accomplishment will become a model for cities throughout Kentucky and an impetus for changes in state policy…policy that has hampered climate change progress far too long,”
While coal has been “a backbone of Kentucky’s economy,” Louisville has worked to reduce its carbon footprint for the past 10 years, a press release stated. The mayor signed the Global Covenant of Mayors in 2016 committing to cut emissions as well as take the necessary steps to prepare for climate change impacts. The city also set an emissions reduction target as well as completing a community greenhouse gas inventory.
As Louisville takes the lead in transitioning toward cleaner, healthier, more affordable renewable energy in the state, it became the one-hundred-and-sixtieth city nationwide to make the commitment.
“Those of us who have been working for over a year and a half to get this resolution passed are more than thrilled,” Drew Foley, chair of Greater Louisville Sierra Club. said. “We are thankful to the fifteen forward-thinking, passionate councilpersons who passed this Resolution last night; they are leading Louisville into a carbon-free future where everyone can thrive.”
COMMENTS