BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – City officials say Burlington is making progress on its net zero energy goals.
Mayor Miro Weinberger says greenhouse gas emissions in the ground transportation and thermal sectors were cut by 18% from 2018 to 2023. And since 2018, there was a 19% reduction in fossil fuel use in the building sector. Officials credit installing 2,800 heat pumps in the city, helping more than 700 families switch to electric cars and enacting the primary renewable heating ordinance in 2021.
Officials say they hope to be a model for other cities trying to do similar projects.
“We are proving here in Burlington by electrifying everything– our cars, our homes, our bikes, our lawnmowers and more– we can end the climate emergency and achieve a future that is more affordable, more equitable, that is healthier. In many ways more awesome than the present we are living in today,” said Weinberger, D-Burlington.
The mayor says despite leaving office in a few weeks, he hopes the programs implemented now will continue to have an impact for Burlington in the future.
