The City of Evanston is committed to fighting and preparing for the impacts of climate change. This webpage contains information relevant to the City's work in fighting and preparing for climate change.

Evanston Municipal Operations Zero Emissions Strategy

The Evanston Municipal Operations Zero Emissions Strategy (ZES), developed by City of Evanston staff, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and Elevate , was completed in August 2021 and approved by the Evanston City Council in March of 2022. It is meant to serve as a guide for achieving carbon neutrality for municipal operations by 2035 as stated in the 2018 Climate and Resilience Action Plan.

The ZES outlines three different scenarios for achieving carbon neutrality in municipal operations by 2035 against the business-as-usual (BAU) baseline with varying degrees of ambition and cost: Scenario 1: Transformative Change; Scenario 2: Fundamental Change; and Scenario 3: Initial Change. Both the Utilities Commission and the Environment Board recommended Scenario 1. The ZES also offers nine strategies for achieving carbon neutrality; six pertaining to buildings and streetlights and three pertaining to the municipal fleet. 

The Carbon Neutral Fleet Action Plan also informed the ZES. 

Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP)

In late 2018, the Evanston City Council approved the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, which calls for carbon neutrality by 2050, zero waste by 2050 and 100% renewable electricity by 2030 among other goals. The plan identifies critical actions that need to be taken in order for Evanston to play its part in avoiding cataclysmic climate change as well as identifies key strategies in ensuring Evanston is prepared to deal with those climate hazards.

Questions

If you have questions or concerns related to the above information please call 3-1-1 or email sustainability@cityofevanston.org.