In honor of Earth Day, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is highlighting what Harris County is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Harris County Office of Sustainability released the first county-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) in January. The CAP is a comprehensive guide to achieving long-term sustainability across county facilities and reducing greenhouse emissions 40% by 2030. The goal of 40% was developed after an in-depth analysis of smart environmental initiatives that the county can implement by 2030 and is in alignment with the climate action goals in other local governments.
“As the energy capital of the world, Harris County is in a unique position to make a real difference in protecting our environment at the same time as we protect our jobs and economy,” said Judge Hidalgo. “This Earth Day, I’m proud to share all we are doing in Harris County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Harris County operations includes maintenance of parks, roads, bridges, construction projects, and traffic signs; operation of community centers; and administration in each of the four precincts. This work is carried out by over 17,700 Harris County employees that operate in 1,279 facilities with a fleet of over 7,600 vehicles.
Harris County has taken the following steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions in county operations:
- Ramped up concrete batch plant inspections, leading to a 60% decrease in plants violating environmental regulations
- Rolled out solar panels in 12 critical county facilities
- Invested over $11 million in a state-of-the-art air monitoring network
- Provided incentives to encourage use of public transit among our employees
- Increased the size of our pollution control department by 50%
- Approved $4 million for LED lights in county buildings (like libraries, hospitals, and administration buildings)
Looking to the future, Harris County is continuing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by:
- Cutting the county operations’ landfill waste in half through recycling and composting programs
- Using more sustainable products in county operations
- Electrifying 75% of the county vehicle fleet
- Reducing electricity usage in county operations by 5% each year
In acknowledgment of Earth Day, Judge Hidalgo proclaimed Saturday, April 22 as Earth Day 2023 in Harris County.