In 2015, a historic 1 in 100-year flood — meaning the probability of occurring in any future year is 1% — severely impacted Columbia and South Carolina. More recently, in the fall of 2024, hot ocean temperatures made storms 400 times more likely to develop, creating Hurricane Helene, which devastated not only Columbia, but the upstate and Appalachian region as well.
As the weather becomes more extreme and unpredictable, Earth Day brings us an annual reminder of the importance of the environment, though conservation efforts occur throughout the year. In particular, many cities and countries are taking action against global warming.
Environmental concerns often feel overwhelming for an individual to respond to and understand their severity, so it's important to understand the science behind it. Global warming occurs when excessive human-generated pollutants in the atmosphere trap sunlight from the greenhouse effect. This causes problems such as excessive heat, additional flooding, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events.
Actions to protect our environment and community against future climate change problems are being taken in Columbia. The Central Midlands Council of Governments released a document Wednesday detailing a Climate Action Plan for the Midlands Region of South Carolina. The document covers seven counties in the Midlands, including Richland, where Columbia resides. The plan explains how to reduce climate pollution in ways that are measurable, effective and align with local priorities in the Midlands.
The Climate Action Plan for the Midlands is part of larger nationwide efforts to reduce pollution and combat global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program supports the creation of various Climate Action Plans, including this one.
The Central Midlands Council of Governments set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions region-wide by 46% by 2035 and to become a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050. This is a science-based goal guided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
For the entire Midlands area, per capita emissions in 2022 were about 15.7 MTCO2e, slightly more than the national per capita emissions that year of 15.6 MTCO2e. The largest contributor was stationary energy with 50% of emissions, followed by transportation with 46% of emissions and then scope 3 emissions, a variety of consumption-based emissions made outside the Midlands.
Of the 10 key strategies the plan describes to reduce emissions, reimagining transportation and expanding renewable energy generation are particularly notable because of their large impacts on reducing the majority of the Midlands' emissions.
Reimagining transportation includes increasing active transportation —walking or cycling — carpool and transit ridership and electrifying personal and municipal vehicles.
To support these plans, additional electric vehicle charging stations and dedicated protected bike lanes, such as the one on campus on south Main Street, will be implemented. The local bus system, COMET, will also purchase zero-emission vehicles with grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Because this strategy combines active transportation and fuel-efficient vehicles, it will effectively reduce transportation emissions. San Diego's 2015 Climate Action Plan made a similar plan for reducing transportation emissions and is currently on track to reach its goal for 2030 because of it. There are already existing bike paths and sidewalks within Columbia that can be easily developed to encourage more active transportation.
To expand renewable energy generation, rooftop solar on businesses and homes, and canopy solar in downtown Columbia parking lots will increase. The Columbia Canal Hydro facility also plans to restart at full capacity, 5 MW, in 2027, providing power for the water station pumping facility and the remainder to the power grid.
Outside of transportation and renewable energy, two other strategies have moderate impacts on overall emissions and produce noticeable changes to citizens. These strategies are to protect trees and green infrastructure and reduce consumption-based carbon impact.
Protecting trees and encouraging green infrastructure is key to sequestering carbon to reduce emissions and alter landscapes. In large and small communities across the region, 75,600 trees will be planted annually from 2026 to 2050 and maintained well to ensure survival. Residents should expect to see more trees in small towns near cities, specifically in areas where people congregate (parks, schools and main streets).
Although tree coverage has not been proven to largely impact global climate change, it has been proven to make local improvements. Trees can help reduce the urban heat island effect, which is particularly prevalent in the urban center of Columbia.
Reducing consumption-based carbon impact has comparatively smaller reductions to total emissions, but produces important lifestyle changes for citizens. Particularly relevant to residents is the shift to replace about 20% of meat-based meals served annually in high-volume cafeterias with plant-based meals.
Though this may seem small, having even one day a week be meatless is incredibly effective at reducing emissions because of the fuels, water and grain to feed livestock. A meatless Monday each week equates to the same reduction of emissions as cutting out 348 miles of driving. Switching high-volume cafeterias in the Midlands to more meatless meals will effectively decrease emissions over time while limiting drastic changes to people's diets.
A less directly noticeable but still important part of reducing consumption-based emissions is to reduce the amount of products shipped into the Midlands from raw materials that are grown, harvested, or manufactured outside the region. This involves reducing/consolidating material inputs or purchases, or productively recycling and reusing materials after their initial use case is complete.
Ultimately, the Climate Action Plan for the Midlands reminds us of the local relevance of climate change. While it may feel as though our city and state are a part of a much larger problem across America and the world of worsening climate change, there are significant actions occurring here to reduce Columbia’s impact.
Just because much of the climate action in our area is not seen or reported on does not mean it is not happening. The Climate Action Plan for the Midlands is publicly available through the Central Midlands Council of Governments’ website for more detailed information on climate actions.
Earth Day is a global event, but the actions against climate change are being taken just outside our doorsteps. The City of Columbia is slowly transforming, and so are the surrounding areas. You must recognize and prepare for these changes, considering what combating climate change means for our community and us.
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