Officials detail Fayetteville’s Climate Action Plan

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Fayetteville lawmakers discussed the city’s Climate Action Plan which was unanimously passed by the city council on July 16.

The plan follows the Carbon Emission Reduction Plan passed in 2018.

Sarah Moore is a Fayetteville City Council member who played a huge part in the approval. “It’s a comprehensive plan that we have for the city to give us a roadmap of making improvements to sustainability measures and to improve our response to climate change,” Moore said.

The plan is to broaden what’s already in place by adding carbon sequestration, which plays a crucial role in limiting climate change. This means reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Peter Nierengarten is the Environmental Director for the city of Fayetteville. “It broadens our approach to add carbon sequestration, and nature-based solutions, so how can our natural environment mitigate the impacts of climate change?” Nierengarten said.

The city council has to figure out how residents can help the city with these issues.

Moore says that the city has had previous issues with transportation, and fuel efficiency all while people are still having to pay energy bills.

“It’s an ongoing concerning conversation. The more that we can invest in all these alternative ways that we move people through our city, the more we have the ability to mitigate the climate impacts,” Moore said.

So, with the Climate Action Plan, Nierengarten has a solution for residents facing these issues. “I think there’s a number of elements that everyday citizens can absolutely participate in,” said Nierengarten. “Transportation choices are certainly part of that, with fuel efficiency, walking and biking or taking public transit instead of driving in a vehicle.”

Nierengarten also stated that Fayetteville is the only city with a climate action plan and that there is a region-wide effort for all of Northwest Arkansas to develop a framework for the entire area in the future.

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