A Climate Change Action Plan For Illinois

Scientists generally agree that the globe has warmed over the past 40 years, due largely to human activities that raise carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol mandating limits on carbon emissions took effect in 2005, eight years after it was written, but the United States -- the world's biggest carbon emitter -- has not ratified the treaty. Debate over global warming has shifted from whether human activities are causing climate change to whether the possible changes will be severe enough to justify the hefty expense of developing cleaner-energy technologies. Economists and even some energy companies have recently proposed taxing carbon as an incentive to consumers and industry to shift to low-carbon fuels. Some multi-state coalitions also hope to issue tradable emissions permits to industry.

iCAP

Climate change is a global problem, but the problem begins locally. Cities consume 75% of the world's energy and emit 80% of the world's greenhouse gases. Changing the way we build and operate our cities can have major effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, communities across the U.S. are responding to the climate change problem by making plans that assess their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and specify actions they will take to reduce these emissions. This is the first book designed to help planners, municipal staff and officials, citizens and others working at local levels to develop Climate Action Plans. CAPs are strategic plans that establish policies and programs for mitigating a community's greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. They typically focus on transportation, energy use, and solid waste, and often differentiate between community-wide actions and municipal agency actions. CAPs are usually based on GHG emissions inventories, which indentify the sources of emissions from the community and quantify the amounts. Additionally, many CAPs include a section addressing adaptation-how the community will respond to the impacts of climate change on the community, such as increased flooding, extended drought, or sea level rise. With examples drawn from actual plans, Local Climate Action Planning guides preparers of CAPs through the entire plan development process, identifying the key considerations and choices that must be made in order to assure that a plan is both workable and effective.