Bethlehem unveils climate action plan

City’s initiative calls for net-zero carbon emissions by 2040

Bethlehem was once the picture of the industrial age, with towering blast furnaces that released plumes of smoke over the city and sent metallic dust swirling into neighborhoods.

City officials have been cleaning up Bethlehem’s image for decades, and now they are taking it even further with a climate action plan that proposes creating an Office of Sustainability at City Hall, and aims to achieve citywide use of renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

“As we look to the future, a rapidly changing climate requires establishing a new vision for Bethlehem as an equitable, prosperous, resilient, healthy and inclusive city,” Mayor Robert

Donchez said. “It takes action to mitigate climate change and we need to increase our preparedness for climate change impacts.”

The nearly 300-page plan, available on the city’s website, was the result of more than a year of planning, including input from hundreds of Bethlehem residents, businesses and institutions.

Donchez and Councilmember J. William Reynolds, who recently announced his candidacy for mayor, unveiled the plan during an event Monday evening at City Hall.

The purpose of the plan is to reduce Bethlehem’s contribution to global climate change, promote equity and climate justice, and to prepare the city for climate change.

Reynolds acknowledged implementing the plan won’t be easy.

“It will take us years, but what we have here is a structure that’s

come out of a community-driven plan that will really place Bethlehem on the map as far as how you do sustainability when it comes to a mid-size city,” said Reynolds, who spearheaded the creation of the plan in 2017.

To keep it moving forward, city officials outlined goals for the next year.

During that time, city officials hope to establish an Office of Sustainability with a director to oversee the city’s efforts to implement the plan. They want to improve their ability to track greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. They also want to form an Environmental Justice Committee to look at issues such as improving municipal operations, making buildings in the city more energy efficient, making parts of the city more walkable and bike friendly, reducing local food waste and encouraging public education and engagement in the plan.

“It’s important that the city show people we are willing to lead the way,” Reynolds said.

The city allocated $75,000 toward the creation of the plan. The Easton-based Nurture Nature Center and WSP USA, a New York engineering firm, will serve as consultants. There were 700 residents at multiple public

forums and more than 50 local institutions that participated in the creation of the plan over the last year, Reynolds said.

Bethlehem has already taken measures such as replacing more than 7,000 light bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs and upgrading its heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and filtration systems at its wastewater treatment plant.

Elsewhere in the Lehigh Valley, Easton and Allentown have also committed to being more environmentally friendly.

In 2018, Easton pledged to reduce its emissions by 80% by 2050.

Allentown prioritizes environment sustainability in its Vision 2030 comprehensive plan, adopted in late 2019. Among other initiatives, it calls for a climate action plan assessing the city’s carbon emissions, and recommending ways to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Options include more robust public transit systems, bikeshare programs and more energy-efficient buildings. Last year, the city Environmental Advisory Council worked with Muhlenberg College to develop an initial greenhouse gas inventory. The EAC wants the city to achievement emissions neutrality by 2050.

In addition, Bethlehem is part of the Compact of Mayors/ Global Covenant of Mayors, a coalition of cities committed to fighting climate change, and We Are Still In, a group of cities and states that opposed the federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. The Biden administration has since rejoined the international agreement.