Atlanta

Atlanta

In 2018, Atlanta made a commitment to a transition to 100% Clean, renewable energy. The Office of Sustainability and Mayor’s Office of Resilience was founded to support the implementation of the transition, as well as recommendations outlined in the City of Atlanta’s Climate Action Plan and Atlanta Resilience Strategy. There is also a Clean Energy Advisory Board that is tasked with helping to educate Atlantans, the Mayor, and City Council on policies and progress. We need bold leadership to continue Atlanta's path as a leader in sustainability.

You should know…

  • Atlanta is making a major investment thru bond funds and other funding sources in affordable housing but funding does not include requirement for energy efficient building or solar energy that could save residents money in the long term.

  • The Mayor’s Office of Resilience has been vastly underfunded in the past 4 years, despite there being a citywide commitment to a transition to 100% clean energy.

  • Atlanta is the city with the 4th highest energy burden (defined as the percentage of gross household income spent on energy bills) in the nation.

  • The Atlanta Police Department recently introduced plans to convert one of the city’s last, largest remaining tracts of forest into a police training facility despite widespread backlash from local residents and activists. The 300-acre Prison Farm property is the largest remaining greenspace in the Intrenchment Creek watershed.

  • The city of Atlanta is undergoing a major rewrite of its Tree Protection Ordinance. The city has a reputation as the "city in a forest" due to its abundance of trees. Tree coverage was estimated at 50-53% in 2010. The majority of tree canopy within Atlanta's city limits (77%- 31,194 acres) is on single-family residential land.

  • In 2019, Fulton County received an “F'' grade for their number of days of unhealthy ozone levels, and the Atlanta metropolitan area was ranked 23rd in the nation for annual particle pollution.

What can be done...

  • Require any affordable housing built with city funds include strong energy efficiency measures and solar energy.

  • Reinvest resources into the 100% clean energy plan and to restaff the Mayor’s Office of Resilience

  • Fully commit to reducing energy burden by combatting increases in power bill rates; investing in programs that provide free or reduced weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades; or that provided bill payment assistance to low-income households

  • Commit to preserving the Intrenchment Creek park and the Atlanta Prison Farm from further development

All of Atlanta's Environmental and Climate Plans

Clean Energy Atlanta: A Vision for a 100% Clean Energy Future

The Clean Energy Resolution defines “clean energy” as “energy derived from wind, solar, existing and low-impact hydroelectric, geothermal, biogas, and wave technology sources” and directs the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience to develop a plan for the city to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2035. On March 6, 2019, the Atlanta City Council unanimously passed Resolution No. 17-R3510, which adopted Clean Energy Atlanta, a plan to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2035.

Resilient Atlanta Strategy

Resilient Atlanta includes a comprehensive and actionable set of Visions, Targets, and Actions that address the region’s most pressing stresses and seeks to build capacity among residents and city systems alike to better withstand future shocks. The Strategy is organized into four leading Visions that reflect residents’ and stakeholders’ aspirations for Atlanta’s future.