Chester County department leaders and partners met recently to review and prioritize long-term and short-term steps that must be taken to achieve the county's Climate Action Plan goal of reducing greenhouse gases. The Climate Action Plan, adopted in October 2021 by the commissioners, calls for the county government's facilities and operations, as well as the Chester County community as a whole, to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. The county's sustainability director, Rachael Griffith, who presided over the meeting, said the county must lead by example to achieve such an ambitious goal.

In 2023, the top initiatives Chester County government will invest in include working toward converting a portion of the county's fleet to electric vehicles and installing EV charging stations at some county facilities. The county will also investigate how to economically acquire electricity from renewable energy sources, facilitate resource-sharing and collaboration between municipalities interested in advancing sustainability goals, and host a Sustainability Summit where sustainability experts can network and share information. The county government will further projects at county facilities related to recycling, waste reduction, and reforestation through an employee committee, Go Green Chesco.

The vision of the Climate Action Plan is to "reduce Chester County's contribution to global climate change and equitably improve the health and well-being of the community by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through government leadership and collaboration, mitigating impacts of climate change through resiliency and planning, and transitioning to clean and sustainable energy generation."

Greenhouse emissions are especially prevalent in the areas of buildings and energy, transportation and land use, waste management, and agriculture, food, and forestry.

For more information on Chester County's Climate Action Plan, visit http://www.chescoplanning.org/Environmental/ClimateAction.cfm.