Kansas City's new climate protection plan paves the way for carbon neutrality, supporters say

The plan is a roadmap for future environmental policy and aims for the city to be carbon neutral by 2040. Despite opposition from utility companies Spire and Evergy, the plan passed with few changes.
Kansas City took a major step to reach carbon neutrality Thursday with the passage of the Climate Protection and Resiliency Plan. The plan was formed over two years by a city-appointed steering committee with public input and will serve as a roadmap for the city’s future climate policies. At the center of the wide-ranging plan is equity and a recognition that climate change disproportionately affects the lives of the city’s poorest communities.

“This is a great day for Kansas City, Missouri, and the region,” Kevin Grooms, chair of the Sierra Club Missouri Chapter, said. “The plan commits Kansas City to being a leader in reducing harmful fossil fuel use while dismantling an unjust status quo that has caused the most vulnerable residents in our community to bear the brunt of these harmful burdens.”