SierraScape August - September 2009
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by John May, Ph.D.
Chair, Creve Coeur Climate Action Task Force

With meandering neighborhoods of quiet suburban streets, you wouldn't think of Creve Coeur, located in St. Louis County, MO, as a hotbed of climate change. But with a vital commercial sector and a business population three times the size of the residential population, Creve Coeur emits a lot of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), the gasses that cause climate change. That's why Creve Coeur decided to become a Cool City: it decided to break its addiction to wasteful energy practices, reduce its impact on climate change, and save money on energy costs.

The first step was to commit the city to reducing GHG emissions by signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. It committed the city to reducing GHG emissions by adopting sustainable development and energy use practices. Mayor Harold Dielmann, with the support of the City Council, signed the pledge in April, 2008.

But signing a pledge will not by itself reduce energy costs and GHG emissions. Municipalities have to turn their commitment into action. The second step of the Cool Cities campaign was to conduct a greenhouse gas inventory. To do a GHG inventory, a municipality gathers information about the energy used by municipal operations and by the community as a whole. Because GHGs come mostly from burning fossil fuels to create energy, cities can calculate their GHG emissions once they know their energy use.

Creve Coeur joined ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, a non-profit group that specializes in helping governments adopt sustainable practices. By joining ICLEI, Creve Coeur gained access to the tools and technical assistance we needed to estimate our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Creve Coeur's GHG inventory was performed by an intern from a local university, under the supervision of Jaysen Christensen, Assistant to the City Administrator. Funding for the internship was provided by an individual in the Creve Coeur community, who provided a donation to the university to fund the internship. This innovative funding mechanism met many needs: the university received a donation, the intern received financial support and gained an invaluable work experience, the City was able to pursue its GHG inventory, and the donor received the tax advantages that go with such a donation. Using this funding mechanism, the GHG inventory was completed in Creve Coeur for total direct costs to the City of $600. (The report is posted on the Creve Coeur website, (www.creve-coeur.org/index.aspx?NID=150).

Each municipality is different, which is why a GHG inventory is necessary. It shows where large reductions in energy use and GHG emissions are possible. Many communities have individuals who attended university and who support their alma mater. Thus, the funding mechanism Creve Coeur used would seem to be available to such municipalities, if they have the initiative to pursue it.

Based on the results of the inventory, Creve Coeur established a Climate Action Task Force to set a greenhouse gas reduction goal and develop a plan to achieve it. In addition, Creve Coeur is pursuing energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions as opportunities arise. The list of measures pursued already runs to five pages.