This Wednesday, the City of Oberlin organized a workshop at the Oberlin Public Library where a sizable group of community members and students shared their thoughts on the direction of the City’s next Climate Action Plan. Since 2011, the City has been operating off a series of plans intended to guide the City’s response to and preparation for climate change, each lasting five years. The City’s long-term goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030 and to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
The speakers at the event, which included the City’s Sustainability Coordinator Linda Arbogast and consultant Melanie Nutter, emphasized the importance of the City and the College working together to address the issue. They highlighted the various advancements the City has made toward fewer emissions, such as a rebate for energy-efficient devices like heat pumps.
In the middle of the workshop, participants were split into groups in which they were asked to voice their feelings about actions that should be taken regarding specific problems, which were then recorded by the groups’ facilitators. After the presentations, those attending the workshop were invited to walk around the room, which contained posters for different aspects of the City’s plan, and vote on which actions regarding climate change the City should prioritize with its limited resources.
Arbogast said she was optimistic about the City’s ability to meet its climate goals but emphasized the need for continuous action.
“We met the 50 percent reduction in 2015,” she said. “I would say we are on track, but it’s all going to be dependent on if we can match our strategies in that Climate Action Plan with the reality of where our greatest emissions are coming from. And … 53 percent of the emissions in the City come from gas use in the commercial sector.”
The speakers at the event also focused on the importance of adapting to climate change in addition to mitigation efforts, with adaptation referring to the ability to minimize the damage from the expected effects of climate change.
Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology John Petersen, OC ’88, who is a member of the City’s Climate Action Plan Steering Committee, was also present at the workshop. In 2021, he took part in an assessment of the City’s climate vulnerability, which found that extreme heat events will have tripled in frequency from 2014 to 2030, and the number of days with extreme rainfall will increase by 25 percent in the same time frame. This specific study was mentioned at the workshop.
“Now that we know what we know now, you’re an idiot if you’re not thinking about adaptation, because the reality is we are in the midst of a rapidly changing climate,” he said. “So one important new feature of the new Climate Action Plan, as opposed to the first Climate Action Plan … is [that] I think adaptation is going to be a major component.”
This workshop was the last public event before the drafting of the next plan, which will be finished and go into effect in 2026. Arbogast stressed the importance of student involvement in this process.
“The actions within that plan is where I’m going to need students and everybody else to get on board,” Arbogast said. “And there will be so many things for students to do.”
