The Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) Project

ATTACHMENT 2

The Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) Project

A Collaboration between the Town of Chapel Hill and the Carolina Environmental Program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Draft 3-25-05

Overview

The Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) program began at the University of East Anglia in England following the release in 2003 of that country’s ambitious plan for a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. While the English government is providing strong national incentives for movement towards technologies that are carbon neutral (i.e. fuel whose production absorbs as much carbon as is ultimately released during burning for energy), there was recognition that the root cause of carbon dioxide emissions was the design of communities and the choices individuals make daily when living in those communities. The School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia started CRed to make the essential link between the national and local efforts, providing a clearinghouse for information and advice and bringing the resources of that university to bear on this important national effort. They began the effort with collaborations in Norwich (the town where the university is located), then spread the efforts to the region of East Anglia, then moved to the larger region known as East of England. As they say on their web site (www.cred-uk.org):

“We have already started to build the CRed community. Members include representatives from many sections of our community: schools, businesses (small and large), local authorities, hospitals, community groups, individuals and organisations. In fact anyone and everyone who participates in Norfolk life can join in! The CRed team is working with partners to estimate how much CO₂ they are responsible for, and in partnership, identifying where and how to reduce emissions in the short, medium and long term. However, ultimately you will decide what will work best for you. Some partners will wish to participate during the working day. Others participate in the home. Some are changing the way they travel. Some are looking at every aspect of their activities; others at a single aspect. Only you can decide how you wish to participate. Building the community, defining targets and commitments and ways of reaching them will continue for the next two years. After this period we will be ready to take on the 60% challenge by 2025. And the world will have noticed.”

Note that the CRed project tightened the goal of the national government, calling for the 60% reduction in their community by 2025.

By summer 2004, CRed encompassed the City of Norwich, with more than a thousand pledges to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, along with substantive plans as to how those pledges would we met (this number is now in excess of 1,800). In that summer, 8 students from UNC-Chapel Hill attended the Carolina Environmental Program’s field site in International Energy Policy and Environmental Assessment located at Cambridge University. For their semester, team-based project (required of all environmental majors at Carolina), the students approached the City of Cambridge for ideas on projects that would benefit that community. The City proposed that the students help them develop plans to become a CRed partner (the first outside Norwich), and suggested working with the City and the University of Cambridge on a proposed Northwest development similar to the designs for Carolina North. The student team began that project, which will continue in the summers of 2005 and 2006.

The City of Cambridge (City Council) then proposed that their city partner or twin with the Town of Chapel Hill to create the first international CRed partnership, and that Cambridge University partner with UNC-Chapel Hill. The staff of the CRed program at the University of East Anglia were enthusiastic. And so that brings us to the proposal at hand: to have the Town of Chapel Hill volunteer to become the first U.S.-based CRed partner, eventually twinning with the City of Cambridge to exchange ideas, information and incentives to carbon dioxide reduction.

The initial proposal here is that the Carolina Environmental Program (CEP) and the Town of Chapel Hill form an official CRed “partner” (the term used in the CRed program for an entity that agrees to carbon reduction planning and implementation). Such a partnership requires the filing of a non-binding “pledge” through the CRed web site, stating the carbon dioxide reduction goal and the timeline for reaching that goal. It then requires development of a formal plan for reaching that goal. Having developed that plan, it is understood that the partnership will move forward, using the plan to guide not only future development in the geographic area under the jurisdiction of the Town but to alter existing development as needed (e.g. through stimulating retrofitting of homes with energy efficient appliances and equipment such as heating & AC, lighting or window systems). As stated above, the plan is not legally binding in any way, but an assessment is performed every two years to determine how well a CRed partner is moving towards the goal.

What does it mean to form a CRed partnership between the CEP and the Town of Chapel Hill? There are several concrete steps to be taken:

1. The CEP and Town will jointly author a pledge to the CRed program, stating clearly the reduction goals and time-line for reaching those goals. Separate goals should be proposed for 2025 and 2050, culminating in a total reduction of 60% over that total period.

2. As mentioned above, students in the BA Environmental Studies, BS Environmental Science and BSPH Environmental Health Science degree programs are required to complete a semester-long, team-based research project with a community partner. This project is guided by a team of graduate students and faculty with expertise in the subject of the project. Those students who cannot travel to the off-campus CEP field sites remain on campus at the Francis Lynn Sustainable Triangle Field Site. It is proposed here that these campus-based students (and their graduate and faculty mentors) use the CRed project over the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 academic years as their team-based project. The student teams will be responsible for working with the Town of Chapel Hill, developers, citizens, etc, to produce the plans for implementation of the goals of the CRed pledge.

3. It is further proposed that the CEP serve as a resource to the Town for information and assessment, continuing that service after 2007. This will include organizing the assessment of progress towards the CRed pledge goals every two years; providing a pool of technical advisors to which organizations can turn for help in identifying and implementing plans; creating and maintaining a web site for information; and making presentations to the Town, citizens, business and industries as needed to stimulate participation.

4. It is further proposed that the geographic area to be considered include all land within the jurisdiction of the Town of Chapel Hill.

5. It is further proposed that the Town of Carrboro be approached at some point to join the partnership. This would occur at whatever time the Mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro agree that such a partnership is beneficial.

6. It is further proposed that the student and faculty teams of the CEP have responsibility for creating a model of the geographic area detailing sources of carbon dioxide emissions and sinks for absorption of carbon dioxide, working with Town officials to develop the database needed to use the model. The model will allow the Town to simulate alternative policies, determine whether those policies will meet the goals of the CRed pledge, and locate the most effective policies.

7. It is further proposed that the plans for meeting the CRed pledge include consideration of a suite of measures that draw on participation by the full range of potential partners in the community (government, business, individuals, etc), and that employ a mixture of policy strategies (free market approaches; permitting approaches; tax incentives; etc.). The CEP student and faculty teams will assist the Town in identifying potential policy approaches, assessing the success of such approaches elsewhere and identifying resources needed for each approach.

8. It is further proposed that the plans for meeting the CRed pledge include all aspects of the Town so the burden of implementation falls fairly on individuals and organizations, and on all sectors (industry, commercial, residential and transportation). These plans should include consideration of: (i) encouragement of non-vehicle and/or public transport; (ii) use of renewable energy sources and encouragement of this through a Renewable Portfolio Standard; (iii) development of energy conservation measures; (iv) consideration of increased density in residential and business activity in the downtown area; and (v) land conservation efforts to retain carbon absorbing properties of the landscape. Again, the student and faculty teams of the CEP will partner with the Town to identify such strategies; to assess their success and failure elsewhere; to identify incentives for participation by individuals and/or organizations; to calculate the impacts of such changes on the CRed pledge goal; and to identify and approach the individuals and/or organizations for their participation.

The time-line for these activities is as follows*:

1. Spring 2005- Chapel Hill-based CEP student and faculty team develops the model of carbon dioxide emissions and policies in Chapel Hill; team works with Town Council staff (and Vice Chancellors Sustainability Committee once that Committee has approved joining the partnership) to formalize proposal. Formal presentation of results to Town in May, 2005.

2. Summer 2005- CEP student and faculty team at Cambridge field site works with City of Cambridge to develop twinning strategy; lessons from assessment in Cambridge and implications for development patterns in Chapel Hill are assessed. Report to City of Cambridge transmitted to Town of Chapel Hill in August, 2005.

3. Fall 2005- CRed proposal is presented to the Town Council for a vote.

4. Fall 2005- Chapel Hill-based CEP student and faculty team works with Town officials to complete the database needed in the policy simulations for Chapel Hill.

5. December 2005- Formal pledge is made to the CRed program based on Spring 2005 and Summer 2005 student and faculty team results, authored jointly by the CEP and the Town of Chapel Hill.

6. Spring 2006- Chapel Hill-based CEP student and faculty team, along with Town Council, develop and assess preliminary suite of policy and community design options to meet CRed goals.

7. May, 2006- Formal proposal is made as to the preliminary suite of policy and community design options, and transmitted to CRed center at University of East Anglia.

8. May 2006- Joint CEP/Town of Chapel Hill web site to support assessments of alternative policy and community design options, and to support future decisions, is launched.

9. Fall 2006 and Spring 2007- Chapel Hill-based CEP student and faculty team, along with Town Council, solicit participation of key individuals and organizations in implementing suite of policy and community design options. Planning document is produced summarizing strategies and development guidelines with interim goals for 2025 and 2040 with a final goal of 60% reduction by 2050.