A Plan for Every Corner of Our Region

Bethlehem Climate Action Plan
Lehigh Valley Community 

“The City of Bethlehem is committed to fighting global climate change. The City is developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP), which will serve as the City’s comprehensive strategy for addressing climate change in Bethlehem and will identify targeted policies, programs, and projects that will both mitigate Bethlehem’s contribution to climate change and help the city adapt to the effects of a changing climate. The plan will include actions and goals for both municipal operations and the community as a whole. In this way, City government will continue to lead by example while all Bethlehem residents and businesses will play a role in helping the community prevent and prepare for the effects of climate change.The plan will be developed with public and stakeholder input throughout 2020, and there will be multiple opportunities to contribute.”

Why does Bethlehem need a climate action plan?

• Pennsylvania is expected to experience temperature increases, including more days with temperatures above 90 degrees, and an increase in the strength and duration or storm events

  • Populations already vulnerable to the health impacts of high heat and flooding are most at-risk 

• Residential, commercial, and institutional building energy use contributes to nearly 50 percent of electricity and natural gas use emissions within the city limits 

  • Solutions to reduce energy use through efficiency and clean energy supply will have an outsized impact on Bethlehem meeting its climate goals

• Climate change solutions benefit communities beyond just the environment

  • Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan also explores the social and economic benefits of climate action

Delaware Climate Action Plan
Delaware Community 

“Over the course of 2020, the State of Delaware will be engaging residents and businesses to shape a Climate Action Plan. The Plan aims at minimizing the greenhouse gas emissions that drive the climate change we see today and maximizing our resilience to the climate impacts we’re already experiencing. Through a participatory planning process, the State will be working to create a Plan that ensures a future for Delaware where individuals, businesses, communities, and institutions can deal with extreme weather, harness clean energy, breathe fresh air, and live healthier lives.”

Why does Delaware need a climate action plan?

From Delaware's Climate Action Plan One-Pager: 

• Energy cost will increase for homeowners, businesses, and communities

  • “With the projected increase in temperatures, energy demand for cooling is expected to increase between 35-70 percent by mid-century"

• Agriculture and tourism, both billion dollar industries in Delaware, are impacted by the effects of climate change

  • “Climate change can disrupt farming through crop losses, reduced yields, flood damage to facilities, delays in planting, and harm to soil and groundwater quality."

  • “Sea level rise could inundate beaches, coastal businesses, and the infrastructure that serves tourists and residents."

• And most importantly Delawareans want climate action 

  • 70 percent of Delawareans polled agreed that we should take immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change