What’s in Chattanooga’s new climate plan?

The city has a plan to become carbon neutral, while adding a large amount of green jobs to our local economy. Here's how it would work.

By William Newlin

Every city-owned bus and vehicle will be electric, buildings will be more energy-efficient, and Chattanooga will see massive federal and private investment into green energy jobs — that’s the vision outlined in the City of Chattanooga’s new Climate Action Plan. 

The 62-page proposal maps out strategies to make government operations carbon neutral by 2040 and aims to align Chattanooga with broader economic shifts toward sustainable industry. 

“It positions our community to be a really strong player as this new sector of our economy takes not only national but international precedence,” said Joda Thongnopnua, Mayor Kelly’s chief of staff in a presentation to City Council.

In light of regional climate disruptions, such as higher rainfall, steep temperature swings, tornadoes, and wildfires, the city also wants to push the broader community toward carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Erik Schmidt, the city’s director of sustainability, said an unstable climate poses risks to the health and wallets of Chattanoogans.

“To me, it’s not even an existential threat,” Schmidt said. “It’s now, it’s here, it’s happening.”

We’ve seen nearly two decades of progress in reducing Chattanooga’s carbon footprint. Local nonprofit green|spaces recorded a 25% community-wide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2008-2018, and upgrades since 2020 at the Moccasin Bend water treatment plant — the city’s biggest guzzler of electricity — have reduced energy consumption there by 27%.

However, green|spaces executive director Michael Walton noted much of Chattanooga’s improvements in the past 15 years have come from our main supplier of energy, the Tennessee Valley Authority, retiring coal power plants. 

“It's going to take all of the local power companies and municipalities and counties to echo that to make progress,” Walton said.

The plan at a glance

A few strategies in the plan are already happening. In the coming months, the city will take an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions, which will serve as a benchmark to measure reductions over time, and it’s using funds from federal and state grants to map out more alternative fuel infrastructure.

Chattanooga has started to see benefits from the green energy economy with new jobs manufacturing electric vehicles and EV battery materials. Mayor Kelly’s administration looks to create a “clustering effect” to continue attracting green businesses and focus workforce training on staffing them, Thongnopnua said.

But other changes in transportation, waste-reduction, building development, and natural preservation will be slower. The proposal says reaching its carbon neutral and zero-waste goals will require continued dedication by the city, businesses, and community members over the next three decades.

Schmidt thinks making emissions reports public and joining a national group of cities and organizations with similar green energy goals will help hold the city accountable.

“Transparency will be important,” Schmidt said. “I'm proud of the work that we've done in the past, but we've got to communicate that on a more consistent and easily accessible basis.”

What you can do now

Not everyone can cut their carbon emissions by switching to an electric car. But if you’re looking to make smaller eco-friendly changes in your life, here are some resources available in Chattanooga.

Energy use

EPB offers free home checkups to evaluate how you can save energy and reduce your monthly utility bills. 

Water

Planting native plants in your yard or garden benefits local animals and reduces water runoff, which can cause sewer overflows during heavy rain. If you’re an EPB customer, you can get a free tree from Reflection Riding Arboretum, like a Bottlebrush Buckeye or a Wax Myrtle, through their Releaf program. 

Find a more extensive list of commercially available plants native to Tennessee here.

The city also runs its RainSmart program to subsidize home rain barrels, another way to reduce runoff and conserve water.

Waste

Chattanooga doesn’t have a city-wide composting service, but residents and businesses can subscribe to NewTerra Compost or Atlas Organics for organic waste pick-up.

Composting is a good way to reduce carbon emissions since food and yard waste produce methane when they’re piled up in landfills. Here’s how you can get started at home.