Richmond Times-Dispatch: Officials say Richmond getting closer to becoming 'greenest city in the East Coast'

Em Holter, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond is on track to becoming the “greenest city on the East Coast,” city officials said Wednesday.

The declaration comes in part from the creation of new environmental-driven departments within City Hall, backed by federal and state funding, and comes two years after the city formally acknowledged it was in a climate crisis.

Mayor Levar Stoney and other city officials met Wednesday afternoon to highlight some of the progress made in recent years, including the introduction of a new city electric fleet of vehicles, several federal grants and meeting its goal of ensuring that half of its energy consumption comes from renewable electricity.

“Our city is moving toward a sustainable future, a healthier future and a greener future,” Stoney said. “Not only are we creating a more inclusive Richmond for everyone, but we will be able to help right the injustices of our past.”

The announcement comes after the city received federally funded monies including a $6 million United States Department of Agriculture grant to support urban forestry in the city’s most disenfranchised communities.

The funds will help plant more trees in communities like South Side, which historically, has higher recorded heat indexes because of a lack of trees.

For second district council representative Katherine Jordan, who has been a longstanding champion for environmental justice, the progress the city has made in recent years is setting the standard for other cities in the country.

“I just want to emphasize really how far Richmond has come because we’ve been doing a lot of planning, there’s been a lot of community outreach,” Jordan said. “We really are in that moment where we can say Richmond’s on the path to be the greenest city in the East Coast.”

The city’s new electric fleet of vehicles consists of several new model 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E hatchbacks. With their introduction, the city has reached its goal of 50% renewable electricity reliant by 2023.

Additionally, the city plans to begin offering grants for residents and businesses to adopt more green practices via rain barrels, green roofs, solar panels and other environmentally savvy editions.

All of these initiatives come in part through the city’s RVAGreen 2050 plan. The plan, which passed earlier this year, serves as a general roadmap in order to ensure the city reaches its goals including the eventual elimination of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city by the year 2050.

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