BETHLEHEM, Pa. — City officials are deeply committed to fighting climate change at the municipal level, Laura Collins said Tuesday.
“We just really believe that with partnerships, with education, with planning and a sincere commitment from the mayor, from city council, from our people working in City Hall – we really believe that we can mitigate Bethlehem’s contribution to climate change,” said Collins, the city’s director of community and economic development. “And we can also help the city be resilient and we can adapt to the long term effects of climate change.
“That's all a priority for our administration.”
Collins, along with other city and environmental officials, on Tuesday night presented a webinar called “Take the Challenge to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.” Cosponsored by the Bethlehem Area Public Library and Bethlehem Food Co-Op, the hour-long event focused on how residents can meaningfully participate in the city’s efforts to fight climate change by joining in the Climate Challenge.
As of Monday, 86 people and organizations have signed up for the challenge, officials said.
That’s about .1% of the city’s population, which is just over 75,000 people.
“We will be continually promoting the challenge in the months to come through social media and other venues to encourage everyone to be engaged in the roles and tasks that they feel most comfortable committing to."Janine Carambot Santoro, Bethlehem's director of equity and inclusion
“We will be continually promoting the challenge in the months to come through social media and other venues to encourage everyone to be engaged in the roles and tasks that they feel most comfortable committing to,” said Janine Carambot Santoro, the city’s director of equity and inclusion. “Right now, we would love people that have enrolled in the Climate Challenge to pick up their signs at the front desk of City Hall so they can help spread the word about the challenge and help make climate action part of Bethlehem’s culture.”
What is the Climate Challenge?
Announced in November, the Climate Challenge is part of the city’s Climate Action Plan, and includes a pledge from residents to participate as much as they can, whether that’s conducting household energy audits, using alternative transportation, cleaning up their communities or making use of renewable energy, among other efforts.
Officials aim to cut 33% of community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, but that's just the first phase. Leaders hope to decrease emissions by 60% come 2030 and grab a net-zero status in 2040, all with the help of community challenge participants.
As for municipal operations, the city aims to reduce 67% of emissions by 2025 and achieve a net-zero status by 2030.
“As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat,” according to the United Nations. “This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history.
“Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature.”
The impacts of climate change in the region are clear. This year alone, the Valley was choked by Canadian wildfire smoke, the Lehigh River was added to a list of endangered rivers and the Earth’s hottest day was recorded.
Easton and Bethlehem have published in-depth climate action plans, while Allentown’s Environmental Advisory Council has posted a climate action report with recommendations to create a city-wide plan.
“Working together with community stakeholders – we had working group members across large organizations and institutions, nonprofits throughout the city, residents, interested individuals – to really help shape and develop what is now the Climate Action Plan,” said Katharine Gross, project director, sustainability, energy and climate Change at city-based engineering consultant WSP. “And this plan really serves as the city's comprehensive strategy, the kind of North Star for addressing climate change within the city.”
The state Department of Environmental Protection is holding a series of public meetings — with a virtual meeting slated for Thursday — to gather input from residents about how the commonwealth should use federal funding aimed at addressing climate change.
‘Much larger change and much larger impact’
Reducing emissions requires community-wide engagement to innovate and drive progress more broadly, Gross said during the webinar. The Climate Challenge works to meet residents where they are, providing a range of ways to participate.
“There's a potential to achieve rapid carbon emissions reductions by implementing a range of activities,” she said. “This challenge includes activities in a number of different areas that residents, K through 12 students, large organizations, small organizations, college students can all engage in to reduce their emissions.
“So, there's actions related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste, food choices, low carbon transportation and the list goes on and on.”
By engaging as many residents as possible, small steps can add up quickly, officials said.
“Getting the broader community involved really adds up to much larger change and much larger impact,” Gross said. “There's not a minimum number of actions. You can choose all. You can choose one.
“We're really just looking for you to engage, and join us and be part of that process.”
Interested in participating in the challenge? Go to webuildbethlehem-pa.gov and take the Climate Challenge survey. To view a recording of the webinar, visit the library's YouTube account.
