Welcome to the Climate Action Newsletter! This month you can catch up on the local connection to international climate work, get some tips on reducing waste over the holidays, and provide important feedback to Larimer County to help shape their climate priorities.

 And if you would like to learn more about how the City of Fort Collins is investing in climate action, you can read about the 2022 City Budget here. Adopted by the City Council this month, next year's budget includes numerous projects and programs to address both mitigation and resilience to help our community make Big Moves and accelerate towards Our Climate Future.

Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager

In early November, global leaders, organizations, and protesters convened in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. It might feel distant, or even irrelevant to us here in Fort Collins, but international decisions and commitments do affect our community - and Fort Collins had a direct impact on COP26. This fall Mayor Arndt joined more than 1,000 cities worldwide in signing on to Cities Race to Zero, a campaign committing cities to equitably achieve carbon neutrality.

C40 Cities, a global network of mayors, estimates that the commitments made in Cities Race to Zero, which represent 722 million people, have the potential to reduce global emissions by 1.4 gigatons annually by 2030, the equivalent of emissions output of the fifth largest economy in the world. COP26 had some wins and some disappointments, so if you’re feeling frustrated or afraid because of the outcome, remember that with continued action by Fort Collins and cities and communities like us across the world, we can make a real contribution to global climate action.

The Climate Smart Larimer County (CSLC) Initiative will provide a plan to address climate change with mitigation and adaptation strategies intended to lessen impacts on our residents and the County’s identified priorities and aspirations. A recent report, called the CSLC Framework, contains baseline information about current impacts and actions in Larimer County related to environmental responsibility, sustainability, and climate action.

Larimer County is beginning community conversations to better understand where county residents stand on climate. This 4-month outreach effort seeks to inform the CSLC Initiative, gather early input on the general understanding of attitudes and knowledge about climate impacts, and invite involvement in the next phase of work.

During the holidays, household waste increases by more than 25%!  This year, have a greener season by...

• Looking for gifts with minimal packaging, items that are made from recycled materials, or are produced locally.
• Wrapping your gifts in reusable materials such as fabric
• Reusing wrapping paper and tissue paper if you can! It can also be recycled in your curbside bin, or in the Low-Grade Mixed Paper Bin (Containers #4 & #5) at the City’s Timberline Recycling Center. Do not include metallic wrapping paper, ribbons or bows.
• Conserving Energy - Use LEDs and put lights on timers to turn on at dusk and off at bedtime. Leaving holiday lights on for 24 hours will quadruple energy costs and produce 4x more pollution than necessary!
• Planning meals ahead of time, buy only what you need - Send leftovers home with guests and get creative with recipes that use leftovers. Compost the rest.
• Recycling what you can!  Even holiday lights and your Christmas tree can be recycled at local drop-off centers. See our A-Z webpage here for places to recycle things - https://www.fcgov.com/recycling/atoz/

In Fort Collins, food waste makes up approximately 23 percent of what residents throw in their trash. It’s not just banana peels or chicken bones – often it’s whole foods and ingredients that get tossed without being consumed.

The average household throws away one-quarter of all the food they buy – that’s like walking in the door with four grocery bags and dropping one straight into the trash each time you shop! Across the US, as much as 40 percent of all food grown ends up being wasted.

All that food waste comes at a cost – when you save your food, you also save money, water, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Want to know much food gets thrown out in your household?