G. Benefits of Climate Action
Benefits of Climate Action
Putting these Strategies and Actions to work will bring numerous, tangible and measurable benefits to our communities:
Cleaner Air
Air quality can improve immediately when people reduce toxic GHGs in their daily lives. Burning fossil fuels in your internal-combustion vehicle, for example, or on your natural gas stove has negative health impacts to you and people near you. Switching to cleaner transportation and appliances will improve air quality immediately. In 2024, the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report gave Washoe County failing grades for both Ozone and Particle Pollution, both of which are made worse when we burn wood and fossil fuels. The goal of this CAP is to reduce the pollutants that contribute to these failing scores and increase the number of days our region experiences either Green (Good) or Yellow (Moderate) air quality as measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI). This CAP supports the work of Northern Nevada Public Health Air Quality Management Division.
Reduced Heat
Reno is now the fastest-warming metropolitan in the United States. The annual average temperature has risen 7.6° F since 1970, and projections show that the annual average temperature could increase another 2 - 4° F between now and 2050. Reducing emissions reduction and the use of heat-absorbing materials on our streets and buildings can help lower our urban heat. The goal for the future is for the average annual temperature to stabilize or even decline. And because many of these factors are compounding, air quality also improves with lower temperatures. See Appendix 7 (link to come) for more information.
Public Health
When air quality improves, so does people’s health. Cleaner air means fewer lung problems, heart problems, birth defects and cancer. And when people’s health improves, we spend less money on health care and more time living happy, productive lives. This CAP will support everyone’s health by mitigating (reducing) dangerous emissions from our buildings, vehicles, appliances, industries and tools. Some CAP Actions encourage the use of active transportation, such as biking and walking, instead of driving. These active transportation approaches also contribute to healthier lifestyles.
Saving Money, Creating Jobs and Improving the Economy
In addition to mitigating climate change and reducing poisonous emissions, many of the solutions offered here use less energy and require fewer operations and maintenance expenses over the long-term. In many cases, the immediate benefits will be lower energy bills. The key challenge to some of these solutions is the up-front investment required to place these solutions into service.
This transition to a more energy efficient economy is already creating business and job growth required for the design, manufacture, and installation of energy efficient technologies and other green sectors. One notable example of this job growth locally is Lithium Loop, which is bringing billions of dollars of investment to create a circular battery economy here in northern Nevada.
Although tackling our climate crisis requires significant investment, we risk even greater costs from not acting. The federal government estimates responding to climate change-related emergencies could cost taxpayers between $25 billion and $128 billion annually. The sooner we minimize climate impacts, the less we will spend responding to, and recovering from, floods, fires, droughts, extreme heat and other emergencies.
Fewer Wildfires
Wildfires have become so common, locals sometimes joke about the “five seasons” in Washoe County: fall, winter, spring, summer and smoke. Community feedback during the creation of this CAP highlighted wildfire as one of the community’s top concerns. As climate conditions have become hotter and drier, wildfires have grown more intense and destructive across much of the United States. In Nevada and elsewhere in the American West, wildfires are burning more often and hotter. If climate change continues to play out as predicted, these trends will only worsen. By reducing GHG emissions and improving defensible space protections around our homes and neighborhoods, we will limit the global warming that contributes to wildfires that destroy our forests and homes and choke our communities with smoke.
Enhancing Food Security
Washoe County has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and cool winters. Local growers produce everything from peas and leafy greens in the cool season to tomatoes, peppers, and squash in the warm season. Cattle ranching is also common in Washoe County. Together, the food and agriculture sector account for more than 2,700 jobs and $1.7B to the County’s economy. in Washoe County. A stable climate supports these industries’ continued operation. Additionally, the actions in this CAP that expand local agriculture reduce the emissions required to transport food from far away, improving food security for our region.
Protecting the Environment and our Natural Resources
A stable climate supports native habitats that are home to native species like mule deer, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, Cui ui and Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. Native birds, reptiles and mammals depend on healthy sagebrush plant communities that are destroyed by wildfires. Lahontan Cutthroat Trout and Cui ui, for example, thrive in cool, clean water. The species is culturally important to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, who has worked to restore the population of this threatened species. However, warming temperatures and degrading water quality challenge these rehabilitation efforts.
Seasonal recreation in the Lake Tahoe region is a beloved resource to Washoe County residents, and Lake Tahoe tourism is a huge economic driver for our region, bringing in $467 million in taxable revenue in calendar year 2022 alone. The Future Urban Climates mapping tool, designed by an ecologist at the University of Maryland shows that, with continued unchecked emissions, Lake Tahoe’s climate will be like Walla Walla, Washington, in 60 years, changing from “temperate conifer forests” to “deserts and xeric shrublands.” In a low emissions scenario, the Tahoe region’s climate would remain a temperate conifer forest. See Appendix 8 (link to come) for details.
Climate Equity
Environmental justice is a major benefit for addressing climate change. Research shows that vulnerable populations such as the elderly or chronically ill, low-income families and people of color are more at risk to the impacts of climate change. Low Income and Disadvantaged Communities (LIDACs) have been historically overburdened by pollution, high energy bills and the lack of access to healthy local food, open spaces and equitable transportation, while being underserved by investments and solutions to improve these outcomes. Climate change exacerbates these gaps. In addition to other Washoe County programs targeting vulnerable populations, this CAP identifies actions that improve outcomes for already vulnerable populations. See Section X, Environmental Justice and Climate Equity (link to come) for more details.
Improved Community Resilience
Many of the actions presented in this CAP will increase the ability of people, businesses, infrastructure, and our local environment to prevent, withstand and recover from stressful events. As examples, weatherization retrofits for homes can extend building comfort from hours to days in times of extreme heat and cold, trees can reduce air pollution and urban heat, and renewable energy microgrids with backup battery storage can provide power when the electric grid fails. By implementing this CAP, Washoe County can better prepare for the many challenges of an uncertain future. Find a more detailed discussion of resilience here (link to come - Appendix Resilience discussion).
Impacts on Society: The Social Cost of Carbon. The impacts of carbon dioxide and other carbon-equivalent gases can be far-reaching and complex, affecting public health, energy costs, agricultural production, labor productivity, and destruction to infrastructure. The Cost of Climate Pollution Calculator, developed by the non-partisan Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law, estimates that 1 metric ton of emissions has an overall cost impact of $208 to the infrastructure, economies, agriculture and other aspects of our global economy. This financial cost can be used to support analyses about the “return on investment” for taking climate action.