County Government Cuts Carbon Emissions by 48%

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Carbon emissions created by Milwaukee County government have decreased 48% since 2005, the baseline year set by the Paris Climate Accords.

That news comes as Milwaukee County officials put the finishing touches on a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan, which will includes a comprehensive set of strategies for sustainable reductions in carbon emissions, is expected in April.

“We’ve been diligently working over the past two years or so to craft a very well-informed and equitable road map to decarbonization,” Grant Helle, director of the county’s Office of Sustainability, told supervisors on the Committee on Environment and Economic Development in January.

In 2021, the county board passed legislation authored by Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson, that made it a policy commitment to pursue carbon neutrality for all county operations by 2050.

“It’s a lofty goal. It’s a very big goal. It’s a goal that’s achievable by 2050,” said Sam Bluemer-Garibay, a consultant with the Seattle-based McKinstry company, who has worked with the county on its climate plan.

The county has been cutting its emissions for years, even before it officially started working on it. For more than a decade the government has reduced its number of facilities and buildings in response to budget shortfalls. A positive side effect has been elimination of the associated emissions from its carbon footprint.

The preliminary goal of the 2050 plan is a 50% reduction by 2030.

“I think it is important to celebrate a 48% reduction to date,” Bluemer-Garibay said. “Which puts you well ahead of the curve for your first milestone which is a 50% reduction by 2030.”

The climate plan team refines the draft plan and is meeting with officials across county agencies to refine the strategies so that each agency head has a clear strategy for how to reduce carbon emissions within their operations. The goal is to align the carbon reduction strategies with the day-to-day goal and ongoing mission of a respective government agency, Bluemer-Garibay said.

Since the climate planning effort began, the county board has also created a new policy for evaluating the climate impact of infrastructure projects, baking carbon emissions and climate considerations into future budget decisions.

The new administration of President Donald Trump, though, has signaled it is unlikely to assist in any emission reduction efforts. Trump issued executive orders immediately upon taking office that included an attempt to block further implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which included huge pools of funding for climate related projects.

The largest source of carbon emissions for the county, after buildings, is the transit fleet, and the U.S. Department of Transportation under Secretary Sean Duffy is seeking to halt any agency programs that reference “greenhouse gas emissions.”