Charleston county close to finalizing climate action plan (2024)

Charleston County is finalizing a new plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and they’re giving the public one last chance to offer feedback on the project.

The strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission 60 percent by 2035, with net-zero total emissions by 2050. Sustainability manager Arielle Gerstein said the county’s total greenhouse gas emissions were 6.4 million tons in 2020. Transportation accounted for nearly half of that total, while building emissions (residential, commercial and industrial) accounted for most of the other half.

“It’s typical of what you see with greenhouse gas inventory,” Gerstein told a May 16 meeting of the city of Charleston’s Resiliency and Sustainability Advisory Committee. “Buildings and transportation are always the big sectors, that’s not really a surprise.”

The county hopes to achieve the net-zero goal by, among other things, setting tighter standards for new buildings, “deep retrofitting” older buildings, and increasing renewable energy capacity.

Even assuming “perfect perfection,” Gerstein said it’s unlikely the county will hit true net-zero emissions by 2050. Under the most optimistic outcome, the county’s total emissions would still be about 380,000 tons.

“We use the term ‘net zero’ and we don’t actually mean it’s going to be zero emissions,” she said. “We get as close to net zero as possible, so that would be a 94 percent reduction.”

If the county adheres to its strategy over the next 25 years, Gerstein said it could bring significant financial benefits. Based on the plan’s estimations, annual household energy expenditures would drop from an average of $5,200 in 2020 to $3,900 by 2050. The plan would also create 3,400 new jobs per year.

In addition to setting a strategy to reduce greenhouse gases, the blueprint aims to increase the county’s resilience to a changing climate. Sea levels in the region are forecast to rise about a foot by 2050, meanwhile warmer waters could power stronger hurricanes. The overall heating of the Earth also threatens record-hot temperatures even on dry ground.

County Council will offer one final chance for residents to provide feedback during the public comment portion of their June 18 meeting, after which the council will vote on finalizing the plan. A separate presentation of the plan at a county committee meeting is set for June 13, which will not have a public comment period.

Over the past year, the county’s Resilience and Sustainability Office has hosted seven public meetings and nine outreach events, and distributed an online questionnaire to solicit public feedback on the project.

The county government only has direct jurisdiction over the unincorporated parts of Charleston County. The 16 cities and towns contained within Charleston County are under their own management.

“Even though we’re coming up with a county plan, we can’t say ‘Hey Mount Pleasant, hey Isle of Palms, you’ve got to do this,’” Gerstein said. “It’s really important that we work with all of our local municipalities. We’ve tried our best to get all of the different municipalities on board, and we’re still in that process to get them into this planning process.”

The city of Charleston adopted its own climate action plan in 2021, and Mount Pleasant recently passed a resolution endorsing the county’s plan.