By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has announced a sustainability plan as part of larger, city-wide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan outlines six focus areas to improve energy efficiency, including incorporating EV charging infrastructure and expanding solar and renewable energy options.
“It’s a matter of reducing our emissions across all scopes by 2050 and wherever needed, utilizing things like carbon offsets to kind of get the rest of the way,” Airport Sustainability Coordinator Elizabeth Lehman said “That will kind of manifest in a lot of different ways from the visitor’s experience.”
The plan lays out projects that will reduce emissions, increase sustainability and help ensure climate resilience, according to a news release.
These strategies target emissions the airport controls, Lehman said, but the airport is preparing to work with its airlines to address emissions from their planes.
“A lot of that has to do with how can we, you know, potentially support infrastructure to bring sustainable aviation fuel to Cleveland and to Ohio.”
The airport aims to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The plan will bring the airport into alignment with goals established in the city’s climate action plan, said Cleveland Director of Sustainability and Climate Justice Sarah O’Keeffe.
“The airport is a port of control,” she said. “It brings in people, it brings in things for our economy. We have the opportunity to make good green jobs here in Cleveland, and that’s what our climate action plan is about.”
The latest draft of Cleveland’s climate action plan proposes a citywide 63% emission reduction by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Achieving net zero emissions means contributing no new emissions to the atmosphere, rather than allowing emissions to increase over time. The final plan will be published in April.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the city will help reduce the effects of climate change felt by residents and business owners in the region, O’Keeffe said, including more frequent and severe storms, flooding and damage from fallen trees.
“Nature-based solutions, stormwater management, trees, these things help us become resilient and recover,” she said. “Adopting modern technology helps us avoid making the problem worse.”
Emissions from the airport, along with city operations, makes up about 2% of the city’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, O’Keeffe said. The next version of the city’s climate action plan will include recommendations on what residents and businesses can do to help reduce emissions.
Featured image: Planes parked at gates at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Hopkins has announced plans to eliminate its own greenhouse gas emissions within the next 25 years. (Photo Credit: Andrew Meyer/Ideastream Public Media)
