H. Vision for 2050
Vision for 2050
Washoe County is a wonderful place to live, with access to outdoor beauty, a resilient economy, and a world-class quality of life. With strategic, concerted efforts, we can protect and enhance the best parts of living here, while reducing the pollution and other challenges to this quality of life. We have a chance to enjoy clean air, clean water, opportunities for meaningful work in a vibrant economy in a setting that nourishes and soothes us, but only if we act now.
Some principles for this work:
- The time to act is now. As we have seen in recent years, climate impacts are already upon us, and evidence tells us they will continue to get worse. This CAP offers suggestions for action that can make a difference immediately. The longer we wait to implement these strategies, the more expensive and more difficult our response will be in the future.
- This CAP is not perfect, but it’s a start. We recommend making progress where we can, while learning along the way to refine our efforts. Every metric ton of GHGs we prevent from entering the atmosphere now reduces the negative impacts we and others will feel in the future.
- Washoe County is leading by example to implement solutions we can now, based on best practices and intelligence that have been developed to date.
- It takes a village. To reduce emissions across all sectors of our community and economy, everyone will need to play their part. Don’t wait for someone else to act. You have a role to play and a difference you can make. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
- Maximize impact. Before investing time and money into a solution, make sure it offers the biggest bang for your buck as possible. What solutions will reduce greenhouse gases fastest? How can we reduce emissions while protecting our air, water, and wildlife habitats? While also investing in future generations and our local economy?
By 2030
- We have a formal, data-driven process for calculating, evaluating and reporting climate action.
- We have implemented >75% of our 44 proposed Tier 1 actions.
- Our emissions are lower from County operations and community wide.
- More businesses, agencies, and residents are engaged in climate action efforts.
- Environmental measures (heat, AQI) have stayed the same or improved, and social measures (Environmental Justice) has improved.
Our path to 2050: How We Get There
2025 – 2030: Understand GHG baselines, make a plan to reduce, implement the “quick wins,” gather information about more complex and / or long-term items
2031 – 2035 Focus investing in large-scale actions that maybe have long-term (5-10 year) ROI
2036 – 2040 Model the Net Zero 2050 glidepath; focus on addressing the sectors that present greatest risk to meeting target
2041 – 2045 Pursue, with urgency, the initiatives that can reduce the most stubborn sources of GHGs
2046 – 2050 – Identify well-validated carbon offsets (see full definition in Appendix 1) to compensate for any remaining emissions that may not be reduced by 2050. Plan for “Drawdown,” a point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.”