Solar panels atop Blackwell Elementary School on the city’s South Side (Photo by Jay Paul)
Summers are getting more brutal in Central Virginia. Through Sept. 5, Richmond experienced 61 days when temperatures breached 90 degrees (the city averaged 44.9 days of 90-plus heat annually from 1991-2020, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; from 1981 to 2010, the annual count was 42.1 days). Globally, the average temperature has risen by 1 degree Celsius since 1880, when the effects of the Industrial Revolution first began impacting the atmosphere.
And more heat is on the way. A recent study by the First Street Foundation warns that by 2053, the Richmond region could average at least one day a year when the heat index reaches 125 degrees.
Mary Finley-Brook, an associate professor of geography and the environment at the University of Richmond, says that the region is already experiencing a climate emergency. Climate change is caused primarily by greenhouse gases — like methane and carbon dioxide — that pollute and trap heat in the atmosphere.
“The emissions that have already been produced are what we’re living through now,” she says. “Think about the emissions that are being produced right now. We haven’t felt that heat yet.”
Finley-Brook says the only chance to avoid catastrophe is to stop fossil fuel consumption. “A lot of people want to use clean coal or cleaner gas,” she says, “but these materials are dirty in other parts of the emissions cycle, and those chemicals end up in the Chesapeake Bay.”
It’s part of a feedback loop that could lead to a loss of biodiversity, among other outcomes. For example, many rivers in the U.S. and Europe are already running lower and drier, threatening water supplies and fish populations.
“Look at the economic impact when our waterways don’t function for trade and transportation,” says Finley-Brook. “It’s already happening, and if we don’t pull back from where we’re headed, we could be at a point of no return within 10 years.”
Locally, city officials are bracing for impact with the development of the RVAgreen 2050 initiative. Launched in 2017 by Mayor Levar Stoney, the plan aims to put Richmond on track for “net-zero” emissions by 2050.
The plan lays out strategies for eliminating the city’s carbon emissions, 66% of which come from energy used to power buildings and facilities, including electricity and natural gas.
“Energy efficiency is the first key goal,” says Dawn Oleksy, climate action supervisor in the city’s office of sustainability, who helped draft the plan. “We want to get solar panels on rooftops and get buildings weatherized. As we electrify our buildings and vehicles, that will reduce our carbon footprint.”
Oleksy says that the private sector will ultimately be responsible for implementing the initiative, which includes 49 strategies for reducing Richmond’s carbon footprint. One strategy is to encourage building owners to use solar energy by providing grants and tax breaks.
The plan also aims to prepare Richmonders for the effects of climate change, especially in the city’s most vulnerable communities. “On our website, you’ll find the Climate Equity Index, a GIS-based map that has 39 demographic layers, from flooding zones, heat levels and green space to race, income and historical redlining,” Oleksy says. “What we’ve seen is that disenfranchised communities have already been impacted by climate change. Urban heat islands are an easy example — it’s hotter in areas that are historically Black and brown.”
“We need to build green spaces and prepare for flooding impact in these areas,” Finley-Brook adds. “This isn’t about the future. This is happening right now.”
