The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability is releasing an update to its Climate Action Plan (CAP), which will guide the city’s policy decisions on a host of sustainability issues. Originally released in 2013, the first iteration of the CAP met with mixed results. For instance, while carbon emissions have been reduced in a number of areas, those reductions have been completely offset by an even greater increase in transportation emissions. Cars may run cleaner than before, but as the updated Plan points out, the daily number of miles driven by Clevelanders has increased over 50 percent in the last decade.

The 2018 CAP update addresses both the successes and shortcomings of the original plan, and proposes new actions and policies. Highlights of the updated plan include:

• Expanding the infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles
• Making Cleveland a premier cycling city by expanding bike sharing, installing at least 10 miles of bike paths and lanes per year, and increasing the number of certified bike-friendly businesses
• A possible commitment to drawing 100 percent of electricity demand from clean energy sources by 2050
• Establishing a healthy urban forest, and improving the quality of public parks
• Improving access to healthy and locally-sourced food, especially in underserved communities

If you have an interest on sustainability issues in Cleveland—perhaps you’d like to see a greater commitment to biking, or have the city remove its “TBD - currently evaluating feasibility” clause from the commitment to 100 percent renewable energy—don’t miss this opportunity to make your voice heard.