The Sustainable Madison Committee discussed the Madison Sustainability Plan and the allocation of funds toward decreasing carbon emissions during a meeting Monday.
The plan focuses on the environment and economic prosperity as well as social capital and community health. It also is designed to improve natural systems, including air and water quality, transportation, employment, education, affordable housing and culture.
The committee stressed the need to allocate funds in the near future and created an ad hoc committee to begin planning a potential budget.
However, some members were opposed to moving forward without more analysis and agreed to create a workforce committee to gather further data.
Committee member Raj Shukla said while the city allotted funds toward renewable energy, energy efficiency—including carbon emission—continues to lack funding. Shukla addressed the behavioral aspect of energy efficiency and said it takes more than a plan to create change.
“I think there has to be some component in all of this where we pay attention to shifting people’s actual feelings,” Shukla said. “It’s not just knowledge. People have to feel like they care if we are going to build an appetite for this going forward.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison students from the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs presented an overview of Madison carbon emissions to the committee. Their research centered on creating a “healthy and prosperous Madison in the future.”
Students discussed the top three emitters of carbon fuels and recommended sustainable changes to decrease emissions, such as regulating commercial carbon emissions, using solar electricity for residential energy and incorporating a bus rapid transit.
Bus rapid transit is a limited-stop transit system offering faster and direct service using larger buses to increase rider capacity, according to the city of Madison.
“Each of these policies has merit in their own right,” a student representative said. “They have the ability to grow and have a larger impact in the future and they have the ability to keep momentum going of implementing even more polices.”
The students said they recognize their model is limited and does not assume any growth in commercial business or increases in Madison Metro ridership.
The committee will continue discussion May 19.
