Hundreds of Anchorage residents have responded to the city's Climate Action Plan

The Anchorage Climate Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 2008 levels by 2050, with a goal of 40 percent by 2030. The city is already on its way toward reaching that goal with several projects already in the works.

"People want to see more renewable energy. How do we ramp that up in our city? Another big topic is waste -- looking at expanding recycling and composting options so we can divert more waste from the landfill, and do our part to be good stewards of our land," said Catherine Kemp, Special Assistant to the Mayor.

Anchorage residents were given several opportunities to comment on the plan last month, and the city received hundreds of responses. It turns out, a lot of people really want a city that's walkable.

"People want to feel safe when they're biking and walking around. So in our plan we talk about fully funding these kinds of projects and improving maintenance of sidewalks," said Kemp. "We've heard a lot about people who don't feel safe walking around in the winter necessarily, and so we want to make sure that we are making that as easy as possible for folks."

Some of these ideas are plans for future projects that are already in the works. The city has already switched many street lights to more energy-efficient LED bulbs, and are looking at switching some city vehicles and garbage trucks to electric.

"This summer we're going to be putting a solar PV system on the Egan Center, examining the feasibility of putting a solar PV system out at the landfill," said Kemp, using the abbreviation for a photovoltaic system, which makes solar power usable. "We're going to be expanding the curbside organics collection program this summer, so that will be open to all SWS customers. We'll also be starting energy efficiency upgrades in municipal buildings."

The State's Climate Action Team