ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The city of Ann Arbor held an interactive discussion Tuesday evening at the Ann Arbor District Library on carbon neutrality goals and climate projects under the A2ZERO plan aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030.
Missy Stults, Ann Arbor sustainability and innovations director, said the 2030 target is only feasible through offsets because gas vehicles will still be on the road. The city is considering carbon credits on the voluntary market, with Certified B Corporation Earthly among the partners helping gather resident feedback.
Earthly describes itself as infrastructure for nature risk management so enterprises can fund high-integrity nature projects. Guest speakers from Earthly and from Austin, Texas Office of Climate Action and Resilience stressed local economic and equity benefits when cities buy carbon assets.
Ann Arbor operates under a strong-mayor form of city government. Mayor Christopher Taylor, first elected in 2014, has served as the city’s top executive through three terms marked by a focus on climate action, transit investment, and housing policy. A public survey on offsets launched in August, followed by a September forum and Tuesday’s session.
Residents asked whether city funds should stay local. Speakers said climate change is global and pressed the question of what kind of city Ann Arbor wants to be as it weighs offset purchases against other climate spending.
