Climate & Sustainability

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

There are many challenges and opportunities related to climate change and sustainability because the problem is not simple to solve. Solutions are local and global and action needs to be taken in a wide variety of ways. We’ve identified the issues as: scale of influence, existing infrastructure, the environment and health equity, air quality, and engagement.

The biggest challenge facing Somerville are issues of scale. Much of what we know is environmentally harmful to Somerville is outside of municipal control. The air pollution from Interstate 93 is mostly from cars passing through and not beholden to any Somerville rules. Buildings in Somerville are the biggest consumers of fossil fuels, but Somerville has limited ability to impose new building codes because this is done at the State level. Similarly, transportation requirements like miles-per-gallon minimums are set by federal authorities. Many of the emissions contributing to climate change can only reform through policy change at different levels of government or from technological solutions.

Changes in Somerville will not be enough to stop climate change nor shelter Somerville residents from its impacts. Our actions may not produce any near-term, discernible benefits and makes it difficult to justify the costs of action on the municipal scale. This lack of control often manifests locally in resistance to changes that would make our community more sustainable. However, municipalities have an important role in effectively mitigating and preparing for climate change. It takes individual investment of cities to reduce their own GHG emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change in order to move toward the collective impact necessitated by the current challenges
and opportunities.

Climate change is driven by fossil fuel emissions and efforts to reduce emissions will require addressing well-established infrastructure. Buildings contribute 65% of Somerville’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Most are privately owned, so mitigating steps, if not mandated, will occur based on property owner interest and willingness to pay. Especially in circumstances where tenants are paying the energy bills, there is little incentive to improve. In addition, it will take drastic changes to wean the housing stock off fossil fuels.

Transportation contributes nearly all the remaining GHG from Somerville (32%) and is attributable almost entirely to single occupancy vehicles. Policy throughout the United States has privileged car ownership by directing tax money to build and maintain roads, zoning for an oversupply of parking, and creating below market-rate parking permit schemes. any residents purchased cars assuming these policies would continue, and fight for it to remain so.

However, this perpetuates the problem. In order to impact the number of cars owned by Somerville residents the City should consider limiting the number of subsidies available – market rate parking policies, zoning to not create an oversupply of parking, and right-sizing roads for all modes. While electrifying cars can reduce carbon emissions, reducing cars and vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) overall will be difficult to do while so many subsidies remain in place. The City is constantly balancing the needs of all roadway users whether motorists, cyclist, or pedestrian.

The remaining three percent of carbon emissions come from waste, particularly from plastic waste. Plastic waste, especially from packaging, is an integral part of the US economy and very difficult to avoid. But, because plastic waste emerges from a myriad of sources yet contributes to less than three percent of Somerville’s carbon emissions, even solving the problem would not provide a major contribution to making Somerville carbon neutral.

The effects of climate change will not be uniformly or equitably distributed. Those who are least likely to afford mitigation costs will also be the greatest impacted. Certain populations are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The Wellbeing of Somerville Report provides several examples of how age and socio-economic status may put certain groups within Somerville at an increased risk:

• Young children have a limited ability to communicate when overheating or when left in dangerous situations and are less self-sufficient, more reliant on adults for transportation and other needs, and less likely to cope emotionally during a disaster or climate event;

• New residents to Somerville may not be aware of emergency alerts and services available and may have difficulty with language access;

• Renters may have less capacity to make improvements to their homes and therefore could be more vulnerable to heat waves and flooding; and

• Older adults are more susceptible to extreme heat, the impacts from poor air quality, and insect-borne diseases and they may find it more difficult to access support services or evacuate during a climate event.

In addition, income and/or wealth influences the capacity to prepare for and recover from an extreme climate event. Thus, it is important to consider the role of policies, programs, and institutions which have historically distributed risks and opportunities unequally across the population.

According to the National Climate Assessment, climate change will affect human health by increasing ground-level ozone and/or particulate matter air pollution. The Wellbeing of Somerville Report highlights air quality as an environmental issue with serious health implications. Research shows that Somerville is a community disproportionately burdened with poor air quality, especially in the neighborhoods adjacent to Interstate 93 and Route 38. Recent studies have shown that ultrafine particles emitted from traffic are associated with (Walker, Douglas I., et al. “Metabolomic assessment of exposure to near-highway ultrafine particles.” Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology (2018): 1) respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and are associated with elevated risk of asthma, heart conditions, and obesity.

Ensuring a just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy and a clean energy future will not be easy. However, it’s critical that any system the City deploys incorporates various language translations, easy access to information, and community events.

Climate change will affect everyone in some way or another. To move forward, we must focus on the opportunities that are available to us.Climate and Sustainability overlaps with several other chapters. Sustainability will need to be incorporated into all future plans that have any impact or expectation for future fossil emissions.