I come to climate the way I come to most things: practically. I've driven an electric car for ten years, and there are solar panels on my roof, because the technology works, the math works, and the future they point to is one I want for Albany.
I love this town, and I pay attention to the big picture. But what I care about most is what Albany can actually change. There is a lot happening in the world, and I want us to put our energy where this city can have a real, measurable impact.
And here's what's worth saying plainly: Albany has been leading. This city adopted its first Climate Action Plan in 2010, ahead of most of the country. In 2019 we adopted a second-generation Climate Action and Adaptation Plan with real targets: a 70% emissions cut by 2035 and net zero by 2045. In 2024, the council declared a climate emergency. Small city, serious record.
That record shows up in programs you can actually use: rebates for heat pump water heaters and heating systems, an induction cooktop lending program, and, in a project drawing national attention, a whole-block electrification pilot with residents and PG&E. California's new neighborhood decarbonization law will let utilities scale exactly this approach, and Albany has been selected for two priority zones. A city of 19,000 is quietly helping write the playbook bigger cities will follow.
I'll be honest: I don't come to this as the expert in the room, and I don't need to be. Albany is full of people who've devoted their careers and their volunteer hours to climate, and learning from them is one of the things I'm most looking forward to. I'm curious, I ask a lot of questions, and I want our energy going toward what genuinely moves the needle: the changes that have real impact for real people.
Here's something I've had to sit with. In most cities, vehicles are the single largest source of emissions, and even if every car in Albany turned electric tomorrow, that alone would not get us to our targets. Cleaner cars are part of the answer. The other part is making it genuinely safe and easy to get around without a car, at every age and every ability. That's climate work, and it also just makes for a better place to live.
So where do I most want to push? Five places.
Make it safe and easy to get around without a car. Start with the practical, affordable things: traffic calming on neighborhood streets (simple traffic circles slow cars down for a fraction of the cost of a major project), safe routes to every school, sidewalks and crossings that work for everyone, and closing the gaps in our network so the pieces actually connect. The Active Transportation Plan that was recently adopted should be shaped by real public input, and then it should be implemented, not shelved.
Public EV chargers. Charging at home is a privilege. Nearly half of Albany rents or lives in multifamily housing, and for them going electric depends on public chargers, and we have too few. I'll back the projects underway and push for more.
Keep the rebates funded. Too often, the impacts of climate change fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable members of our community, while the solutions needed to reduce those impacts remain unavailable or financially out of reach. These rebates, emphasizing low-income residents, help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be part of creating a greener, more sustainable city.
Electrify the city's own house. Keep replacing city vehicles with electric and hybrid models as they retire, and keep electrifying and adding solar to city buildings. Lead by example, at a pace the budget honestly allows.
Preparedness that does double duty. I support working with our partners and community organizations to ensure the city is prepared to stand up a community space with solar and battery storage where people can charge, stay warm or cool, and ride out an emergency.
And here's the practical part that does not get said enough: promoting public transit, working with our regional transit partners, and designing streets that work for people walking and biking, an approach planners call Complete Streets, are often how a small city unlocks outside funding. A lot of regional and state transportation funding is tied to meeting those standards, so doing this well means Albany pays for less of it out of our own tight budget. It also lines up with state policy to reduce vehicle miles traveled, which lowers emissions, cuts collisions, and, counterintuitively, tends to free up parking rather than take it away. Good climate policy and good fiscal policy point the same direction here.