Royal Oak, Ferndale Seek Ways to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Two cities in Oakland County plan to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. First, they need to determine how much is already in the air and use that information as part of a larger effort to fight global warming and the negative effects it can have at the local level.

“Our infrastructure is not built for such things.” — Julie Lyons Bricker. Royal Oak’s energy and sustainability manager

In July, Royal Oak and Ferndale both passed resolutions requiring an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, buildings and other sources. Once they know how much of these gases are in the air, the cities can set targets for reducing them.

Click on the player above to hear how Royal Oak and Ferndale plan on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Erin Quetell is Ferndale’s environmental sustainability planner. She says this will set the foundation for a larger climate action plan.

Jake Neher/WDET

“We look at things like our transportation corridors,” she says. “We look at how intense our energy usage is and that sort of thing. And it gives us a baseline for where we are now and how we can achieve some improvements or efficiencies in the future.”

Quetell says that baseline will help Ferndale establish concrete goals for mitigating the effects of climate change.

The increase in global air and water temperatures, for example, can affect the weather. There’s more moisture in the air, and that can lead to heavier rainstorms, like the one that caused widespread flooding in Metro Detroit in 2014.

Royal Oak’s Energy and Sustainability Manager, Julie Lyons Bricker, says cities need to plan for those kind of environmental impacts.

“We’re going to have to start considering resilience and mitigation of these hazards because our infrastructure is not built for such things,” she says.

Erin Quetell says Ferndale is already making the environment part of its infrastructure planning process. The city created a revolving energy fund in 2019. 

“We can reinvest the money that would otherwise be used for our electricity bills in efficiency projects.” — Erin Quetell, Ferndale’s environmental sustainability planner

One of those projects is Ferndale’s first solar carport outside city hall and the police station. 

Climate change disproportionately affects communities of color. Their input is supposed to be included in these plans. Royal Oak’s Bricker says the three pillars of sustainability are the environment, the economy and social equity, and all three have to part of any comprehensive climate initiative.

“We will work very hard to incorporate a diverse set of voices when we start talking about what we do with the potential of these goals,” she says.

Royal Oak and Ferndale plan is to begin the greenhouse gas emissions inventories this fall and have some data by the end of the year so both cities can start setting goals for cutting emissions.