Lafayette Climate Goals
Lafayette Climate Goals:
Our commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2030 and an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Anyone who has spent time in Lafayette as a citizen, visitor, or employee knows that our community is deeply committed to making good decisions for both our people and the planet. For many years, Lafayette has served as a sustainability leader among Colorado communities. As such, the City Council of Lafayette strongly supports the scientific consensus that the earth’s climate is warming as a result of human activities which are releasing unprecedented quantities of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a community, we understand that the local effects of climate change, such as potential for more extreme weather events resulting in wildfire and flooding, may have an impact on Lafayette residents and its economy.
In October 2017, the Lafayette City Council passed a resolution establishing community-wide goals to achieve 80% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030. With this public commitment, Lafayette joins hundreds of cities and communities across the US in support of doing our part to address climate change here at home.
Lafayette started measuring the community carbon footprint in 2009 and has a deep understanding of our sources. In order to reach our climate goals, we’ll use our baseline information to build a road map to reach our goals and decrease the amount of heat trapping emissions from our city. Progress will be communicated on this website, and tracked through our membership with the Compact of Colorado Communities.
Lafayette’s carbon footprint includes three main sectors: stationary energy, transportation, and waste. Each of these sectors include the emissions sources from the 2015 carbon footprint analysis. Lafayette’s total carbon footprint in 2015 was 287,604 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e).
- Residential Energy: 32%
- Transportation: 32%
- Commercial Energy: 31%
- Solid Waste Disposal: 2%
- Fugitive Emissions 2%
- Wastewater Treatment: 0.1%
To learn more about ongoing sustainability efforts and to understand how you can support community climate goals, please see:
- Lafayette Energy Sustainability Advisory Committee Goals
- Going Solar: Lafayette specific resources for solar energy
- CC4CA Policy and Advocacy
- Electric Vehicles study for Lafayette by DOE National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)