ABSTRACT
Long term policies and programs must be identified and supported in order to meet the challenge of reducing carbon emissions. The impact of carbon emissions is measured in units of million of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. The City of Austin, Texas, has number of exemplary programs and policies that are directed toward reducing energy use and carbon emissions. The City of Cambridge, England, developed an ambitious goal in 2003 of reducing its carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. To achieve this goal, the city collaborated with the Community Carbon Reduction program housed at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Carbon-reduction projects can be used to generate carbon exchange offsets. Actions by cities to include inventorying greenhouse gases, updating land use policies and building codes, encouraging use of public transit systems, supporting alternative energy, promoting green construction practices, improving recycling programs and promoting tree planning to absorb carbon dioxide.
