FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 December 2019
Contacts:
Julie Kay, Fossil Free Fredericksburg
pjlkay2@aol.com, (540) 538 4981
Eric Bonds, Fossil Free Fredericksburg
ebonds@umw.edu, (303) 817 3425
Alice Redhead, ReadyFor100 Organizer, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
alice.redhead@sierraclub.org, (703) 646 8905
Fredericksburg commits to 100% clean energy future, joins growing movement.
City jumps ahead on climate action by adopting resolution acknowledging the serious threat of climate change and committing to 100% clean energy.
Fredericksburg, VA -- On Tuesday night, members of the public packed the council chamber at the final City Council meeting of the year. The Fredericksburg City Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution committing the city to 100 percent clean, renewable energy community-wide by 2050, and 100 percent clean, renewable energy for municipal operations by 2035.
This is the strongest action Fredericksburg has taken on energy and climate, and is a leap forward on environmental issues. The resolution also included commitments to hire a sustainability and energy specialist, and produce an annual summary to evaluate the city's progress on these goals beginning in July 2023.
“We do have a crisis at hand,” said Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw during the Council’s comments, “but we have a city and a staff and a community willing to do our part. We are committed and hopefully we can do it even faster than we’re saying.”
Fossil Free Fredericksburg, a local community advocacy group, campaigned for this commitment for almost two years. "We're thrilled that the City is taking this step to become a leader in Virginia in tackling the climate crisis," said Julie Kay, Fossil Free Fredericksburg Steering Committee Member. “By focusing the energy of concerned residents of all ages, we will make a meaningful difference and Fredericksburg can be a model for other small cities throughout Virginia.”
City Council members noted that the 100% commitment was a collaborative community effort with many groups involved and expressed gratitude for residents taking action and being engaged. The resolution was created and brought before the city by members of the public.
“We are at a significant moment in history,” said Robert Courtnage, the City’s Clean and Green Commission Chair. The Commission supported the 100% clean energy commitment at the City Council meeting after unanimously endorsing the resolution earlier in the fall. “There is a groundswell of citizen engagement coalescing together to do our part to address the climate crisis. The Council’s passage of this resolution is a powerful first step for the City to help combat the climate crisis.”
Fossil Free Fredericksburg also engaged the University of Mary Washington. A handful of faculty spoke at the City Council meeting and both the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department and the entire Faculty Council formally supported the 100% resolution.
Fredericksburg is the latest community to join the rapidly growing nationwide movement for local-level clean energy progress. 159 US localities, 7 states and Puerto Rico have made 100% clean energy commitments in response to federal inaction on climate change and reduction of critical environmental protections and programs. This momentum has been felt in Virginia and with this resolution, Fredericksburg has pushed to the forefront as the 4th locality in the Commonwealth to commit to 100% clean energy. Earlier this summer, Arlington set an ambitious goal of clean energy community wide by 2035 as the County adopted a groundbreaking Community Energy Plan. These commitments follow Floyd County and Blacksburg.
Fredericksburg’s decision comes just ahead of the 2020 Virginia General Assembly session which will be led by a new Democratic majority and will consider various legislation addressing clean energy and climate at the state level. Some of these proposed bills aim to remove barriers to clean energy access and set mandatory standards for clean energy expansion in Virginia, all of which will help localities achieve these aspiring clean energy goals.
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Fossil Free Fredericksburg is a community advocacy group working to raise awareness about climate change and build public support for a transition to renewable energy through community events and engagement.