August 30 2021
The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors have preliminarily approved the Middletown Township Climate Action Plan, a strategic and measured approach toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions community-wide, at their meeting on Monday, August 16, 2021. A draft of the document is available for public review and feedback at www.middletownbucks.org/CAP. Final adoption of the Climate Action Plan is tentatively scheduled for Monday, September 20, 2021.
The mission of the Middletown Township Local Climate Action Plan is to create an environmentally friendly future that improves the quality of life by promoting environmental sustainability to residents, businesses, and the community.
As a Certified Gold Sustainable Community, Middletown Township would become the first municipality in Bucks County to adopt a local Climate Action Plan. This Climate Action Plan was developed through participation in the Local Climate Action Program, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection at no cost to the Township. Students and faculty from Wilkes University and ICLEI, an environmental consulting firm, assisted in the development of the Township's Climate Action Plan. The Township's Climate Action Plan directly supports and mobilizes three of the four areas in the Township's 2020 Comprehensive Plan.
Data from 2018 was collected from our local utilities, service providers, and monitoring agencies to quantify our emissions into a GHG inventory. As a result, Transportation (inclusive of public transportation, private vehicles, and railroads) was determined to be the single largest contributor to Middletown Township's GHG emissions. Coupled with residential and commercial energy, these three categories comprise 95% of the Township's total GHG emissions.
The Climate Action Plan outlines 63 activities, ranging from programs and strategic partnerships, to information campaigns and policy changes. Some of the recommended activities include walkability improvements to create better access to public transportation routes, to providing tailored information to homeowners and businesses about how they can take small steps toward reducing water and utility usage.
These activities, as they are individually considered and enacted, will support the overall reduction of GHG emissions. It is important to note that this Climate Action Plan is a plan, and will not unilaterally put these recommendations in motion.
Ongoing progress toward reducing GHG emissions will be measured against future GHG inventories performed every five years by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
Please send any comments, questions, or concerns to Assistant Township Manager Nick Valla at nvalla@middletownbucks.org.
A video of the presentation made to the Board of Supervisors on August 16, 2021, is available here.