As Brunswick enters a new year, it’s starting a five-year countdown to the first milestone in the Climate Action Plan adopted last month.

Brunswick’s plan, which town councilors passed in December, aims to reduce emissions 65% by 2030. While the plan also includes guidelines for conservation and resiliency building, the initiative largely targets greenhouse gas emissions, significant contributors to climate change.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are contributing to global warming and are fueled by human activity, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and other leading scientific organizations. Some Maine entities such as Central Maine Power already suspect that climate change is impacting regions like the Midcoast by bringing about more severe weather.

As the Earth nears critical tipping points that lead to irreversible climate change effects, communities like Brunswick are trying to play their part in reducing the impact.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

Plan highlights

The plan could influence how policies are crafted and follows a series of moves by the Town Council to address climate change. 

The nearly 300-page document identifies seven community sectors — municipal, housing, transportation, energy, natural resources, community health and waste — as areas for improvement.

Reduce emissions

Across the board, the plan pushes for a reduction in emissions both within the municipal government and broader community.

The plan uses 2022 emissions data as a reference point. In this year, outputs surpassed 251,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with municipal and school operations accounting for 2% of emissions.

An emitter known as “stationary energy” — or emissions from commercial and residential buildings — made up 53% of the 2022 output. Commercial buildings contributed the most at 68,366 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the plan. Residential buildings emitted 62,487 metric tons, with fuels like propane, kerosene and wood accounting for over half of this figure.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

In a close second was transportation, which contributed 41% of 2022 emissions. Gasoline-powered passenger vehicles accounted for a majority of these emissions, producing 67,563 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, more than what residential buildings emitted in the same year.

To reach Brunswick’s 2030 goal, the town would have to limit emissions to about 88,176 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year. The town also aims to net zero municipal emissions by 2040 and net zero across the community by 2050.

Reaching these goals would entail addressing some of Brunswick’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters. The plan points to phasing out fossil fuel-based heating and cooling systems in newly built municipal facilities, moving towards more eco-friendly equipment, vehicles and charging stations, as well as promoting more sustainable modes of travel. 

The plan pushes for renewable energy sources in new construction projects when possible. The plan suggests that the town explore policies and possible incentives to promote “green development” across industrial, commercial and residential sectors, as well as find financial incentives to reduce the cost of installing electric heating and cooling systems in lower-income homes.

Reduce waste and build resiliency

While emissions are the main focus of the plan, other climate-friendly goals in the plan include reducing waste, utilizing local and sustainable food sources and pursuing a more circular economy — a type of production and consumption cycle that extends the lifespans of materials. The plan also touches on promoting local, sustainable and plant-based dietary options in schools and local restaurants.

One goal featured in the plan is to conserve at least 40% of community land by 2050. The conservation effort would emphasize unfragmented, biodiverse areas like coastal land and forests. To do this, the plan states that the town could strengthen its ordinances that prevent rural sprawl and “forest fragmentation” that can come with residential development — a concern that has been raised by some residents in cases of logging and housing development in last year.

However, it also suggests that the town “encourage the creation of neighborhoods” that group different types of housing within walking distance of amenities like public transit and grocery stores.

Other suggested initiatives include expanding sustainable wastewater practices, updating emergency management plans with information on climate hazards and monitoring species in local ecosystems to track climate impact.

Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick

The ‘business as usual’ outcome

If Brunswick were to take no action on reducing emissions, the plan speculates that emissions from buildings and transportation will go down by 29%, but only by 2050.

This projection is based on a modeling software, ClearPath, that created emission forecasts using the 2022 data. The model noted that it considered factors such as a declining population as reasons why emissions could still go down.

Those interested can read the approved plan in its entirety on the Brunswick town website.