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Missoula County, MT

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LANDS & COMMUNITIES PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT & SUSTAINABILITY LANDS, CULTURE & RECREATION

GRANTS & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS ECOLOGY & EXTENSION

Climate Action

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A Priority for Missoula County

Missoula County is committed to addressing climate change and building resiliency in our government operations and throughout our communities. Missoula County recognized the threat of climate change in the 2016 Growth Policy, which includes the following goal:

“Missoula County seeks to reduce its contribution to climate change while promoting resiliency and adapting to its impact on the natural environment and communities.” (Goal 4, p. 2-8)

The Missoula County Sustainability Program was created in 2017 to advance climate action and resiliency work, and has been pursuing the following initiatives to achieve the County's goals:

CONTACT
(406) 258-4657
pds@missoulacounty.us
Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

LOCATION
Office: 127 E. Main St. Suite 2
Mailing: 200 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802

How are we going to produce more clean electricity?

On April 3, 2019, the Missoula County Commissioners and the Missoula City Council adopted a joint resolution that establishes a goal of 100% clean electricity for the Missoula urban area by 2030. As part of this effort, the city and county are working with NorthWestern Energy, the Cities of Bozeman and Helena, and community partners to increase the supply of renewable energy and decrease demand via energy efficiency. Missoula County is also active at the state level on issues of energy policy and regulation that have implications for our ability to achieve 100% clean electricity.

How are we preparing for the effects of climate change?

Since the summer of 2018, Missoula County, Climate Smart Missoula, and the City of Missoula have been jointly leading a climate resiliency planning process called Climate Ready Missoula: Building Resiliency in Missoula County. It has been developed with the participation of hundreds of local organizations and individuals via two large stakeholder workshops, online surveys, and numerous public meetings. Climate Ready Missoula was inspired by the Climate Ready Communities program developed by the Geos Institute. Together with our steering committee, we have developed a Climate and Community Primer, wrote a Vulnerability Assessment, and generated resilience goals and strategies to address those vulnerabilities. As of May 2020, Climate Ready Missoula plan is an issue plan of the Missoula County Growth Policy and an issue plan of the Our Missoula: City Growth Policy 2035.

Information sourced from Climate Ready Missoula. Find more information at their website https://www.climatereadymissoula.org/.

How can I go solar?

What is the County doing to reduce County government emissions?

On March 14, 2019, the Board of County Commissioners established a goal of carbon neutrality for Missoula County government operations by 2035 with an intermediate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30% below 2016 levels by 2025.

Read the Carbon Neutrality Resolution.

An internal Carbon Neutrality Team is currently working to develop a plan to achieve the carbon neutrality goal. The county has already taken a number of steps to reduce its emissions, including:

Installation of the largest rooftop solar array in the state at the County Detention Facility (click here for FAQs about this project). A solar array has also been installed at the Missoula Public Library, and the county is currently considering incorporating solar into several other county-owned buildings.
Adoption of an Energy Efficient Building Policy for new construction and renovation of county-owned buildings.
Contract with McKinstry, an energy services company, for an in-depth energy audit to identify energy saving opportunities at the Detention Facility and the Courthouse.

How can I remove methane gas (natural gas) from my house?

Electrifying your home will accelerate the demand for more clean electricity in our community.

In Missoula, many residences rely on methane gas (aka "natural gas") for space and water heating and cooling, cooking, and laundry. As a result, our building sector is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for the majority of our community's carbon emissions. Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change requires that we phase out fossil fuels entirely, and that includes getting buildings off methane gas.

Burning methane gas in your home can also pose threat to your household's health and safety. Gas-powered systems contribute to unhealthy indoor and outdoor air quality and rely on sometimes dangerous gas line infrastructure. Studies have found that children and other vulnerable populations living in homes with gas stoves have significantly higher rates of asthma. Gas is highly combustible when mixed with air which makes residential gas leaks extremely dangerous.

Information sourced from Electrify Missoula. Find more information on their website https://www.electrifymissoula.org/.