City Releases Climate Action Plan Progress Report

Lincoln says 76% of the action items in its 2021-2027 Climate Action Plan are now completed or underway, according to a progress report released April 22. (lincoln.ne.gov) Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird announced the update on Earth Day with community partners, and the city said the plan tracks 118 goals to be reached by 2027. (nebraskapublicmedia.org) The report says Lincoln adopted the plan in 2021 and set a long-term target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 while preparing for floods, drought, extreme heat and related public health risks. (lincoln.ne.gov) City officials organized the work into eight areas: cleaner energy, cleaner transportation, flood and heat preparedness, local food, climate-smart economic development, greener neighborhoods, waste reduction and community engagement. (nebraskapublicmedia.org) The update lands after a year of unusual weather in Nebraska and as Lincoln and Lancaster County continue using a heat response plan released in May 2025. University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural meteorologist Eric Hunt told Nebraska Public Media that higher temperatures and heavier precipitation are becoming more likely as the atmosphere warms. (nebraskapublicmedia.org) The city’s progress report points to housing and energy projects with specific counts. It says 326 rental units in the South of Downtown neighborhood have been rehabilitated or are in progress, and a heat-pump incentive launched in 2024 has distributed more than $600,000 to 477 residents. (lincoln.ne.gov) The report also says Lincoln completed a municipal buildings energy management plan in March 2025 after securing a $300,000 federal grant. The city says a landfill biogas project announced in November 2024 is scheduled to begin operating in fall 2026 and would convert methane into renewable natural gas. (lincoln.ne.gov) Hunt said Lincoln’s weather risks can swing between drought and intense rain, and he pointed to soil water storage as one way to reduce aridity risk. Nebraska Public Media reported that the city’s Sustainable Landscapes Cost Share program helps residents in a target area install waterwise lawns and landscaping that let more water soak into the ground. (nebraskapublicmedia.org) The plan itself grew out of a city process that collected more than 600 community ideas and folded 365 of them into the final 2021 document. One year before the plan’s 2027 deadline, Lincoln is framing the latest report as a status check on what has moved from planning into construction, incentives and emergency preparation. (lincoln.ne.gov)