Originally appeared in the Fort Collins Coloradoan on March 3, 2015 

Fort Collins City Council will be voting today on an update to our current Climate Action Plan. I am a member of the Fort Collins Sustainability Group and represented them on the City’s Citizen Advisory Committee, which brought together business and nonprofit representatives to address the challenge of climate change. 

This updated plan is now quite robust. It addresses Fort Collins’ responsibility to both lead by example and do our share to lower the amount of greenhouse gasses (GHG) we produce. The plan is designed to reduce (from 2005) GHG 20 percent by 2020, 80 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050. This will be accomplished through a variety of efforts: Reduce energy use in buildings and transportation, reduce emissions from electricity, reduce waste and reduce landfill emissions by recycling and composting. 

In addition to all the positive effects on our environment, the plan offers financial benefits, as well. The cumulative savings are estimated to be in the range of several hundred million dollars by 2035, and several billion dollars (yes, billion) by 2050. This plan is a big win-win for our community. 

Please contact your City Council representative at cityleaders@fcgov.com and urge them to vote for the Climate Action Plan. 

Eric Levine lives in Fort Collins