MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County is going green. Mayor Lee Harris signed an executive order Wednesday to replace county government gas vehicles with hybrid and zero-emission electric ones.
County leaders said the goal of the county's Green Fleet initiative is to reduce the government's impact on the environment and build a more efficient, cost-effective solution. The county said it recently added its first fully electric vehicle to its fleet, and the county commission authorized $350,000 to buy a fully electric medium-duty dump truck for the county’s litter collection program.
The executive order Harris signed Wednesday marks a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the government’s fleet vehicles by 45% by 2035. It also calls for expanded fuel efficiency information for the commission when authorizing purchases, quickens the pace for replacing inefficient county vehicles, limits the time those vehicles can idle, and looks toward fleet modernization.
“It is a hope of our organization that this will serve as a catalyst to move other local governing bodies and other organizations into action,” said Angela Johnson, Director of Community Engagement with Memphis Community Against Pollution.
Harris said the largest producer of community-wide greenhouse gas in Shelby County is on-road emissions, and this is a way to offset that and reduce climate change in the Mid-South.
“Climate change, increasingly severe weather, and other damage to our shared environment are costing our community dearly. Right now, we have millions of dollars devoted to critical flood mitigation projects designed to help reduce the impact of climate change on homes and neighborhoods. We aren’t going to stop preparing for the worst,” said Harris in a news release.
“The policy choices we make regarding climate change now will inform the trajectory of the environment for decades to come. As young people, my peers and I will have to deal with the fallout if policymakers continue making bad decisions,” said Sophia Overstreet, a Houston High School senior and youth activist for transit and climate justice. “Steps like this help ensure the eventual implementation of widespread green infrastructure and set important precedents for clean energy and clean transportation.”
