For immediate release: April 24, 2024
Contact: David Warren
Administrative and Communications Manager
Telephone: 207-992-4204
Email: david.warren@bangormaine.gov
Bangor City Council approves Penobscot Climate Action Plan
BANGOR, Maine – The City Council on Monday, April 22, 2024, adopted the Penobscot Climate Action Plan as a guide for reducing the City's greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the City's resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The vote by the Council means the plan will become an addendum to the City's Comprehensive Plan. Penobscot Climate Action is a regional planning collaborative involving Bangor, Bradley, Brewer, Hampden, Hermon, Milford, Penobscot Indian Island, Old Town, Orono, Orrington and Veazie. The work is intended to understand our region's vulnerabilities to climate change and develop actionable plans and strategies to build a more climate resilient future for our economy, the environment and the people of the region.
The Council in 2021 approved a resolve committing the City to adopting a climate action plan that would establish a baseline inventory of city-wide greenhouse gas emissions and would assist Maine in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
The City embarked on the planning process in fall 2021 with staff from the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System, the Town of Orono and the University of Maine. The process involved over two years of meetings with various stakeholders, working groups and officials from municipalities in the BACTS region, as well as public outreach via workshops, pop-up events and surveys.
The resulting plan includes a vulnerability assessment and greenhouse gas inventory for the BACTS region and a list of strategies and toolkits to both increase the region's resilience and decrease the region's greenhouse gas emissions. The Council's Government Operations Committee on April 1, 2024, reviewed and recommended the plan for approval, which then led to the Council vote on April 22.
For more information about the Penobscot Climate Action Plan, visit this page on the City's website: https://www.bangormaine.gov/climateaction
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The City of Bangor, Maine, is a service center community of 31,753 residents and is the county seat of Penobscot County. Bangor is the major commercial and cultural center for much of northern and eastern Maine. The City is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. For information on City projects and news, see www.bangormaine.gov.