Crowley Releases Plan To Make County Carbon Neutral By 2050

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

County Executive David Crowley released a long-term climate plan for Milwaukee County aimed at getting the government to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Crowley teased the plan during his annual State of the County address earlier this week.

In 2021, the Milwaukee County Board passed a resolution sponsored by Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson requesting a long-term plan from the county moving the government toward climate neutrality. Four years later, the plan is finished.

“In Milwaukee County, we know that the climate crisis is a real, pressing threat to our environment, our economy, our health, and our quality of life,” Crowley said. “The Milwaukee County Climate Action Plan provides policymakers, stakeholders, and local leaders with a framework to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, while advancing equity, justice, and resilience throughout our community.

An annual inventory of the county’s emissions has found that the government is already well on track to achieve its goals by 2050, having already reduced carbon emissions by 46% from the baseline year of 2005, which is the internationally accepted baseline used by the Paris Climate Agreement. It places the county on track to meet a 2030 goal of a 50% reduction.

The 25-year climate plan includes projects for individual county departments, including the transit system and Milwaukee County Parks. The general strategy is to focus on not creating any new emissions, then reduce existing emissions, begin replacing energy sources with lower emissions sources and, finally, purchasing carbon offset credits. The biggest reduction in emissions would come from the development of on and off site renewable energy.

Carbon offset credits work by paying another organization to reduce its carbon emissions. Some credits have found to be of dubious value. The county’s climate plan makes a point to note it will go after “credible carbon offsets.”

Milwaukee County also recently re-joined a city county climate-related task force to oversee implementation of a climate and jobs plan released in 2021. Backed by the task force, the city adopted its own plan in 2023.

The county’s latest plan was developed with input from local organizations and community members, in part through a climate survey which found local residents are concerned about climate change and not confident the government will be able to respond to it.

“The Climate Action 2050 Plan allows us to make informed decisions on reducing emissions and mitigating climate vulnerabilities in Milwaukee County,” said Supervisor Anne O’Connor. 

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