The City of Newark is developing an update to its 2010 Climate Action Plan to serve as a comprehensive framework to mitigate the impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Action Newark (CAN) will provide a roadmap for the City to prioritize actions that reduce GHG emissions in alignment with state targets and promote environmental, social, economic, and public health benefits to the community.

Ultimately, CAN strategies and actions will reduce emissions across a number of sectors, and strengthen the community's resilience against climate change. Overall, CAN will be essential for mitigating climate change, safeguarding the environment, fostering economic growth, and improving the quality of life for current and future generations.

The greenhouse gas effect is the result of gases, mainly of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere. This natural process is responsible for Earth's inhabitable temperatures. However, the combustion of fossil fuels has led to an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing Earth's climate to warm at an unprecedented rate. This phenomenon is known as climate change and is the primary driver behind changes in more extreme weather patterns, the rapid melting of the polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and other effects that result in impacts on people, infrastructure, and natural systems.

What Generates Emissions in Newark?

The emissions inventory is a record of Newark’s GHG emissions in 2022. It highlights the main sources of emissions and is essential for tracking progress and guiding actions to reduce them.