There are all kinds of climate pollution in Hampton Roads.
Cars and ships burning gas, buildings using electricity powered by fossil fuels, waste breaking down at landfills — all release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Those gases are then trapped in the atmosphere and make the planet hotter.
In an ambitious new plan, local officials have outlined actions that could best help reduce those emissions over the next few decades.
The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan is the first attempt to take stock of the region’s overall contributions to climate change.
“We certainly are seeing changes in our climate with temperature changes, precipitation and sea level rise,” said water resources engineer Whitney Katchmark, who is leading the effort for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
“This is a chance to look at these issues and make some changes, but it also aligns with a lot of things that people want in terms of just quality of life.”
In 2023, the commission received $1 million from the Environmental Protection Agency through a Biden-era program called Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. Separately, Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality was awarded $3 million to develop a state plan.
The plans are due to the EPA Dec. 1, followed by an updated version in 2027.
Katchmark said the group worked with a consultant to project the region’s greenhouse gas emissions under different scenarios.
If aggressive action is taken, officials found Hampton Roads could cut up to 90% of emissions by 2050, compared to 2022 levels. Much of that relies on the state’s targets for shifting to clean energy and continued market trends on electric cars.
The highest-polluting localities in the region are Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Newport News, which are hubs for tourism, military and ship-centered installations, according to the report.
Commercial and industrial buildings are the biggest source of regional emissions, based on energy consumption, accounting for 34%, the analysis found. That’s followed closely by on-road transportation, with 31%, and residential buildings at 18%.
Officials recommend dozens of measures to cut pollution and boost resilience to climate impacts. Here are the biggest takeaways.
Boosting public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure
The most dominant theme the planning commission heard from the public during the engagement process “was a decisive demand to move away from the region’s car dependency,” the report states.
That includes improving public transportation and expanding trails for people to walk and bike.
“People wanted options to get where they want to go, but not in the car,” Katchmark said.
Giving people access to alternative forms of transportation would help reduce emissions from cars.
The plan also prioritizes encouraging residents and visitors to drive electric cars.
The goal is to identify infrastructure gaps and create a regional charging network that includes stations along key tourist routes and in underserved areas.
Investing in nature
Residents voiced “powerful support” for preserving and expanding green space such as trees, parks and wetlands.
Natural features boost people’s health and wellbeing, but also act as “carbon sinks,” capturing and storing greenhouse gases that would otherwise be released, Katchmark said.
Forests and urban trees, for example, offset the impacts of about 3.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in Hampton Roads each year, the report says. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of about 900,000 cars.
But the region is losing trees and wetlands every year, Katchmark said. “They don’t get re-established at the pace that we cut them down or develop.”
Planting trees and restoring marshland are key ways to reduce the region’s climate pollution, according to the plan. That can include integrating trees into grazing and agricultural areas.
Creating wetlands as living shorelines also protects land from erosion and flooding. Expanding urban tree canopy provides shade for communities.
Electrifying buildings and going solar
Buildings release emissions largely by burning natural gas and using electricity generated by fossil fuels.
Faulty equipment or system inefficiencies can also release “fugitive emissions,” and some household chemicals, such as refrigerants in air conditioning, are potent greenhouse gases.
Hampton Roads officials propose reducing energy consumption in buildings and investing in energy efficiency, including better home insulation to prevent energy from being wasted.
Switching from gas-powered appliances to electric ones cuts back on emissions, especially as more electricity is drawn from renewable sources. Clean energy makes up just over half of the grid-level electricity generated in Virginia, largely because of nuclear power.
Local governments should support these measures through zoning and permitting, building codes, financial incentives and educational programs, the plan states.
Katchmark said many people expressed they’d like to see more programs for solar energy on homes and businesses. Installing panels cuts emissions but also helps owners save money on energy bills.
The planning commission is considering “information hubs” to make it easier for people to learn about solar and electric vehicles, she said.
Handling waste
When organic material, such as food and plants, decays, it emits methane, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet even faster than carbon dioxide.
Hampton Roads could cut down on those emissions by sending less waste to the landfill, the plan states. That can happen through composting, recycling or converting organics into “bioenergy.”
The Southeastern Public Service Authority, which handles trash for the Southside, is finalizing a new contract that could help by removing recyclable materials from trash before it’s taken to the Regional Landfill in Suffolk.
Officials also want to further invest in methane capture, where on-site equipment collects methane at the source before it’s released at landfills, coal mines or wastewater treatment plants. Captured methane is often converted into fuel.
Reducing waste through composting and “rescuing” food is a big component of the state’s Climate Action Plan.
Moving forward
Government agencies, nonprofits and businesses in Hampton Roads are already working on many of the outlined strategies.
But large-scale projects, such as a regional EV charging network, will depend on getting more funding.
The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission unsuccessfully applied for a federal grant last year to start implementing its goals.
The Trump administration has been rolling back grant programs associated with climate work. Katchmark said the initial $1 million grant was not affected, though the EPA did remove requirements about benefiting disadvantaged communities.
The lofty 90% reduction also hinges on Virginia achieving the terms of the Clean Economy Act passed by the General Assembly five years ago, which mandates the state’s electric grid use only clean energy by 2050.
Katchmark said, regardless of what happens next, the plan is a useful guide.
“Even if there isn't a ton of implementation money immediately available, it will help us position ourselves to take advantage when it is.”
