Tonight, our Juneau Assembly will be debating one of the most potentially impactful documents to enter the Assembly Chambers. Years of work by many of our friends and neighbors has created a draft Juneau Renewable Energy Strategy (JRES), an intelligent and visionary “blueprint for Juneau’s future” that details an energy and efficiency strategy to guide Juneau to the year 2045 and beyond.
Most importantly, JRES has the potential to dramatically slash Juneau’s carbon footprint. From more efficient heating systems to the adoption of electric vehicles, this strategy will bring Juneau in line with both national and international greenhouse gas emissions targets and transition Juneau from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy.
Presently, Juneau lags behind the progress that hundreds of American cities have made in creating clean energy visions for their futures. Seattle has an ambitious target of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Other forward-thinking cities include Houston, Texas, 80 percent by 2050, San Diego, California, 100 percent by 2035, and Boston, Massachusetts, 80 percent by 2050. Many of these city’s plans have been in place for years, and some are well on their way to reaching their energy goals. Along the journey, all of these cities are realizing huge cost savings, increased employment, the development of new business, and improvements in air quality and overall quality of life. This widespread climate action is not a flash in the pan, but a national, and global, wake up call. The Renewable Energy Strategy is Juneau’s option for local climate action and not too long ago it was stated in the Assembly chambers, “Let’s keep it local.” The Renewable Energy Strategy gives us this opportunity.
It’s hard to imagine how some of these larger metropolitan areas could possibly achieve their ambitious renewable energy goals, but success is being seen on many fronts. Their city leaders are looking ahead, thinking outside the box, and are recognizing the benefits of electric and the downsides of petroleum. If Houston, Texas, one of American’s leading petroleum and petrochemical cities, can put a plan into place to move to 80 percent renewable by 2050, there is no doubt that Juneau and its 34,000 inhabitants can reach a similar goal.
The beauty, and possibly the curse, of a strategy such as this one, is that it is aspirational. It is not required. There are no direct penalties for not following through with the strategy. It could be easy to say, “Sure. Let’s support this. And, if we get to it, great. If not, well, it’s there for us to reach for.” Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened over the last 10 years in Juneau. Numerous climate action and renewable energy plans and resolutions have been debated, shared with the public, and supported by city leaders. With no teeth to ensure action, many beneficial aspects of these measures have not seen attention.
2045 is not far off, but 27 years from now, many of us will be wrapping up our efforts to affect change and make the world a better place. We can continue to plod along and keep a “business as usual” approach, shipping the oil and burning the gas. Meanwhile, as a city, state and nation, we fall further behind the majority of humanity in their quest for a cleaner and wiser future. Or, we can reach higher. The time to act is now. The quest for clean energy is here. Our ticket to Juneau’s clean energy future will be sitting on our Assembly member’s desks Monday evening.
If you’ve ever thought that climate change is too big, too scary, too completely disempowering, this is your chance to be a part of the solution. You can contact your Assembly members at BoroughAssembly@juneau.org and tell them that you support clean and efficient energy for Juneau, that you support local action in joining what is becoming an international clean energy movement, and ask them to pass a resolution supporting and enacting the Juneau Renewable Energy Strategy.
Andy Romanoff has lived in Juneau for 28 years and is a board member of 350Juneau, a local nonprofit climate advocacy group.
