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  4. Bethlehem Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan

The City’s first comprehensive plan will serve as its overall strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build equitable climate resilience that brings economic benefits to all stakeholders.

Location

  • Bethelehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Client

  • City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Project Status

  • Completed

The City of Bethlehem has long supported climate action, over the years committing to the various national and global sustainability and decarbonization initiatives and implementing GHG reduction strategies between 2005 and 2017 —including renewable energy purchasing — which reduced municipal emissions 37 percent. In February 2017, City Council unanimously endorsed the creation of a Climate Action Plan (CAP).

WSP was selected to develop the City’s first CAP, and manage all aspects of its development, including stakeholder and public engagement, mitigation target setting and achievement roadmap, climate vulnerability assessment, and drafting of the plan. The justice and equity-focused community-wide CAP, specifically designed for the city of 70,000, establishes targeted policies, programs and projects to help Bethlehem mitigate its emissions contribution and build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.

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To establish a baseline, WSP conducted a comprehensive review of the City’s municipal operations and citywide GHG emissions inventory processes and procedures. The team then modeled citywide and municipal operations GHG reduction targets for 2030 and 2050, aligning with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change global 1.5°C temperature scenarios.

WSP facilitated a series of stakeholder working groups to develop sector-specific mitigation goals and strategies for the CAP. The team analyzed mitigation strategies for their emissions reduction potential and co-benefits and conducted three public meetings and multiple public surveys to gather input for the plan. The team also formed an environmental justice and equity steering committee and partnered with local community-based organizations to give a voice to frontline communities and integrate the principles of justice and equity throughout the CAP.

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For the climate vulnerability assessment, WSP analyzed statistically downscaled Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) climate projections for the city and processed daily temperature and precipitation projections for multiple future warming scenarios. The team then facilitated multiple stakeholder meetings to conduct a vulnerability assessment based on the climate projection analysis results.

WSP compiled the final CAP in a graphically designed template with public release in April 2021.

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