City of Ames Climate Action Goal Setting and Plan

Client City of Ames
Client type Municipality
Location Ames, Iowa
Population (2019) 66,023
Tools used CityInSight

Project Overview

The City of Ames, home to Iowa State University of Science and Technology, is a major regional center for agriculture, manufacturing, and engineering services. In 2007, the City joined other cities across the United States in signing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, kick starting the first of many climate actions such as EcoSmart, a comprehensive strategy to reduce energy consumption, a community GHG inventory and climate vulnerability study, as well as a study on how to increase the local potential of solar panels.

Our Role

SSG was brought in to work on the City’s Climate Action Goal Setting and Plan, which builds on the City’s sustainable vision and past work.

Outcomes:

The project involved setting GHG targets, developing actions, and an extensive engagement process with a focus on advancing equity. SSG calculated GHG emissions levels across all relevant sectors, and developed recommended targets based on the local context, best practices, the City’s GHG inventory, community input, and committee input.

• City Council voted to reduce emissions by 83% by 2030 over 2018 levels and to reach net-zero by 2050. The Mayor and Council were close collaborators in the project, as well as representatives from Iowa State University, and the municipally-owned and operated utility.
• The final CAP focuses on developing practical and cost-effective emissions reduction strategies, and includes a framework that the City can use to assess progress at designated milestones.
• City Council voted to pass the final CAP unanimously on June 13 2023

Services: Climate mitigation and adaptation planning

Read more here.