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Plan

Ashland Climate and Energy Action Plan

Climate change is already affecting Ashland and the surrounding region, and its impacts are projected to become much more severe in the coming decades. To minimize harmful impacts and play its part in curbing global carbon pollution, Ashland needs to take bold steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resiliency. This plan lays out a foundation for the City of Ashland to reduce its emissions and improve its resilience to future impacts of climate change on its environment, infrastructure, and

Year
2024

Details

Hazards Addressed
Extreme Heat
Wildfire
Assets
Energy and Utilities
People
Water Infrastructure – General
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Equity Insights

Equity is integrated throughout Ashland’s Climate and Energy Action Plan. It includes:

  • An ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction target that acknowledges the responsibility of developed societies to minimize harmful impacts to those who did not contribute to the problem.
  • Actions that focus on supporting vulnerable populations, who will disproportionately suffer from many climate change impacts.
  • Including equity in prioritization criteria for evaluating potential actions.
  • Progress indicators that track equitable implementation of the plan, such as the percentage of Ashland residents experiencing health issues or with access to cooling centers.
  • An implementation plan that calls for equity to be considered in the implementation phase of every action.

Options Used

Regulate new development and substantial rehabilitation in the Wildfire Lands Overlay part of the urban growth boundary Require, through a brush ordinance, property construction and maintenance for “defensible space.” Regulate new development and mitigate old construction in wildfire hazard areas, especially in the urban growth boundary.

Steps to Resilience

Get Started
Understand Exposure
Assess Vulnerability & Risk
Investigate Options
Prioritize & Plan
Take Action

Plans

Ashland Climate and Energy Action Plan

Organizations to Contact

City of Ashland, OR
Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI) at Oregon State University

Relevant Options

Include increasing temperature in the design calculation for maximum temperature /rating Require the use of solar power and battery storage – either on individual units or as a community installation – on new affordable housing developments to help residents reduce energy bills as extreme Develop an educational campaign that encourages residents to weatherize their homes. Doing so will reduce heating and cooling bills, especially as high temperature days and nights become more common.

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