Burlington successfully met emissions reduction goals for 2019 and 2020, according to a new analysis by the Burlington Electric Department.
Compared to 2018 levels, greenhouse gas emissions are down 15% in the city. Natural gas is down 10.5%, and gas and diesel use for transportation is down 23.6%. But the city has not met its 2020 goals for electrification measures.
Burlington officials presented the data with cautious optimism during a press conference Monday afternoon and again to the City Council that night.
While the new data appears to show Burlington on track to meet its emissions reduction goals, pandemic-related behavioral changes — primarily in the transportation sector — could have driven the progress. To sustain it will be challenging in a post-Covid world, Burlington Electric General Manager Darren Springer said.
“Can we have employers in the area that have remote workers to not travel quite as much as they did before the pandemic? Can we continue with fare-free transit? Can we keep increasing the bike lanes and the walking opportunities?” Springer asked. “That’s all going to play a key role in whether that metric stays lower or whether it kind of goes back up.”
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger echoed Springer’s caution.
“This is by no means a declaration of mission accomplished here,” Weinberger said. “I think today is a day to show that these ambitious goals can be met. But it is no time for complacency, no time to let up.”
Springer said it was not clear whether the city would have met its 2020 goals in a normal year, though it’s working with a consultant to try to answer the hypothetical.
According to Springer, the city had aimed to have 548 electric vehicles on the road by 2020 and 3,900 electric heat pumps in homes. Incomplete data suggests that Burlington actually had 362 cars last year and 891 heat pumps in homes, Springer said. He said these local electrification goals are some of the “most ambitious” in the country, and the city has doubled residential heat pump installations since 2018.
To continue the city’s success in reducing its emissions, Weinberger laid out four initiatives he said he wants the city to take action on in 2021:
- Continue the green stimulus cash fund created during the pandemic to encourage residents to transition to greener technologies through rebates. Weinberger is directing the BED to create a revenue bond proposal to fund this stimulus, which he wants to put before voters in a special election this fall.
- Continue building a dedicated bike lane network.
- Move forward on building a district energy system for the city by using excess heat from the McNeil Generating Station to deliver heat and hot water to parts of the city.
- Pass revisions to the city’s rental weatherization standards to improve efficiency.
Other business
The City Council on Monday night also unanimously passed a resolution submitted by Councilor Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, limiting how and when leaf blowers can be used in the city. It also restricts gas-powered leaf blowers from being used during certain times of the year.
More than 100 cities have approved similar measures, according to Paul. She called the use of gas-powered blowers “detrimental to the environment and harmful to the ozone layer.”
The ordinance change dictates that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, only electric-powered leaf blowers not louder than 65 decibels can be used. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, leaf blowers can only be used if they have been manufactured after Jan. 1, 2005, with Environmental Protection Agency-approved Class 4 or 5 engines.
The ordinance dictates that leaf blowers can only be used Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and never on Sundays or holidays, except in the case of an emergency to prevent flooding or other damage.
Every Burlington resident is expected to come into compliance with the ordinance change by May 2022. City departments and businesses will need to come into compliance by fall. The minimum fine for violating the ordinance is $100.
The council unanimously passed a proclamation issued by Weinberger dedicating April as Fair Housing Month in the city. It then decided to postpone a vote on a resolution enacting stricter weatherization standards for rental properties to promote efficiency and reduce utility costs. Councilor Chip Mason, D-Ward 5, asked that the proposed changes be returned to the ordinance committee for more input on the timeline of the revisision, to which the council agreed.
The council also unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the members of the Police Commission to enter into training with the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement Association. The training is expected to cost $5,100.
