Aiming to establish a roadmap to achieve its ambitious climate action goals, the City of Evanston is asking the community to provide input on a draft of its next climate action plan.

The City’s draft Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP), available at cityofevanston.org/climate, specifies actions the City and its community partners will take to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while improving Evanston’s resilience to climate change. 

In September 2017, Mayor Hagerty established a Climate Action and Resilience Plan Working Group to develop the plan and help the City meet its emissions reduction commitments to the Mayors for 100% Clean Energy initiative, Chicago Climate Charter and We Are Still In coalition, among others. Over the last year, the group has drafted the plan with input from residents and local organizations. 

Community members are encouraged to visit cityofevanston.org/climate to view the plan and complete the public comment form by Friday, September 28. Feedback can also be provided in-person at any of five upcoming public events:

  • Evanston Streets Alive!, Sunday, September 9, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Main Street and Ridge Avenue
  • Environmental Board Public Comment Forum, Thursday, September 13, 7 p.m., Morton Civic Center (Room 2404), 2100 Ridge Ave.
  • Mayor’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan Forum, Saturday, September 22, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Evanston Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd. (RSVP at cityofevanston.org/climate.)
  • CGE Green Drinks, Wednesday, September 26, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Celtic Knot, 626 Church St.
  • 7th Ward Meeting, Thursday, September 27, 7 p.m., Evanston Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd.

In addition to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, other plan goals include achieving 100 percent renewable electricity for all Evanston properties by 2035, and achieving communitywide zero-waste by 2050.

After incorporating community input, the final version of the Climate Action and Resilience Plan will be presented to the Evanston City Council by the end of 2018. 

For questions regarding the plan, process or events, please email sustainability@cityofevanston.org or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.