Anchorage’s Climate Action Plan Should Fall Behind More Important Priorities

May 15, 2019

After months of “input” – mostly comments by anti-everything environmentalists – the Municipality of Anchorage recently made public its Climate Action Plan.

The 106-page document lays out the framework for future policies to reduce carbon emissions.

But is this a balanced, responsible plan? Or the work of the eco-left?

In a recent article, Shaina Kilcoyne, Energy and Sustainability Manager at the Municipality’s Solid Waste Services stated, “We do have a big goal to reduce our emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and that is both ambitious and necessary.  And this plan puts us on that path.  But frankly, it doesn’t go far enough to get us there.”

With shockingly high levels of property crime, a murder rate that is trending toward being the deadliest in Anchorage’s history, and untold thousands of residents struggling with opiate and other serious drug dependencies, people are questioning why the city is focusing so much on eco concerns.

How many thousands, or even millions, did they spend on this report? You don’t need a government panel to tell you to pick the cheapest light bulbs.

A perfect example of the municipality making mountains out of molehills with regard to this new plan can be found on page 28, with the note that municipal government uses only four percent of the total energy consumed in the area.

If this “Action Plan” was only going to impact four percent of the area’s energy users, I’m sure the response would be “who cares?”

However, this plan will ultimately guide the policies and procedures the Mayor and Assembly will roll out to all users in the Municipality.  Business owners (25% of the usage base) and residents (54%) should be concerned with this, especially when looking at the potential for changes that could increase costs, add burdensome regulation and impact the independent-mindedness of Alaska.

This is just another case of bureaucrats trotting out talking points that make them look like they’re doing something, as they ignore other pressing issues the city faces.

Let’s hope the liberal majority on the Anchorage Assembly has the common sense to focus time and money on keeping Anchorage’s citizens safe, before spending money to implement policies that take away from more pressing needs.  On May 21^st, we’ll see, as the Assembly is scheduled to vote on the plan.