Climate 

Comprehensive Climate Action Plan

The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) developed the region’s first Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) through a two-year collaboration with local governments, state agencies, businesses, non-profits, and residents across the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Funded through a planning grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the CCAP provides a regional roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve air quality, and grow the region’s clean energy workforce across six sectors.

Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (PDF)

Comprehensive Climate Action Plan Origins

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program provides grants to states, regions, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other harmful air pollutants. The program has three main objectives:

1. Deliver cleaner air by reducing harmful air pollution in places where people live, work, play, and go to school.
2. Tackle damaging climate pollution while supporting the creation of good jobs and lowering the energy costs for families.
3. Accelerate work to address environmental injustice and empower community-drive solutions in overburdened neighborhoods.

What are Greenhouse Gas Emissions? 

A "greenhouse gas" (GHG) is a type of gas in the Earth's atmosphere that traps heat from the sun, like a ceiling made of glass, and warms the planet. GHGs are sometimes created naturally and are important for keeping Earth at a comfortable temperature, similar to how a greenhouse with glass walls traps heat inside to grow plants when it is cold outside. However, too much heat can be harmful. Everyday activities – like burning fossil fuels for energy to power our daily lives, cutting down trees, and sending too much waste to landfills – can increase GHGs, negatively impact the environment and contribute to climate change.  

CPRG Planning Grants 

The CPRG program was created to support reductions in GHGs and has two phases for its planning grants. The first phase was completed in March 2024 by Hampton Roads stakeholders who created a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) that identified regional near-term, implementation-ready GHG emissions reduction measures. 

The HRPDC is currently working on the second phase of the CPRG planning grant – developing a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP). The CCAP will include GHG emissions reduction measures for all economic areas, along with assessments of potential co-benefits, impacts to disadvantaged communities, and local workforce development needs. The CCAP is due to the EPA by December 1, 2025. 

The second phase of the CPRG is the opportunity to apply for implementation grants for projects, programs, and measures that support GHG emissions reductions. Applications for implementation grants were due April 1, 2024. HRPDC collaborated with localities and regional stakeholders to develop and submit the Advancing Clean Transportation (ACT) proposal. 

A Climate Action Plan for Hampton Roads

The CCAP can serve as a roadmap to benefit our region by advancing an overall plan for localities, agencies, industry, and communities to work together to reduce emissions, improve local air quality, support clean energy workforce development, and identify methods to ensure a just and equitable energy transition in vulnerable communities. The projects, programs and actions in the CCAP will aim to reduce GHG emissions across multiple economic sectors:

• Energy Supply. Cleaner sources of energy can be used to power our homes, businesses, and transportation. 
• Buildings and Energy Use. Buildings can run more efficiently and be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, helping to keep the lights on while consuming less power.
• Transportation. Switching to electric and fuel-efficient vehicles and equipment, increased use of public transportation, and options like walking and biking can have major community and health benefits.
• Solid Waste and Wastewater. Better recycling practices and expanded composting activities can help reduce emissions from our landfills, and process efficiency improvements can help reduce emissions from wastewater treatment plants. 
• Agriculture and Natural Lands. Conserving, restoring, and managing lands to preserve and enhance their benefits – such as wetland and living shoreline restoration and increased tree canopy – can support GHG reductions and increase community protection from storms and flooding. 
• Industry. Finding collaborative solutions for clean energy use and efficiency improvements along our industrial corridors can help reduce pollution. 

Get involved

Public participation is key to finding out how best to implement programs and projects to reduce GHG emissions in the region. We are gathering input from a Steering Committee made up of the region’s localities and non-profits as well as connecting with individual community members and stakeholders through outreach to community-based organizations and neighborhoods. The plan will include attention to communities most affected by a changing climate to ensure that Hampton Roads is striving toward a future with facilities and systems that consider and benefit all neighborhoods. 

To learn more, get involved, or request a meeting with your community group, contact Whitney Katchmark wkatchmark@hrpdcva.gov or Quan McLaurin qmclaurin@hrpdcva.gov . 

CPRG Implementation Grants 

The CPRG program also included the opportunity to apply for implementation grant funding for projects included in the PCAP and that support GHG emissions reductions. HRPDC collaborated with localities and regional stakeholders to develop and submit the Advancing Clean Transportation (ACT) proposal, which identified three key measures the region could pursue to reduce transportation-related emissions in the Hampton Roads region: Electric Vehicle Supporting Equipment Network, Trail Expansion, and LED Streetlight Conversions.  While ultimately unsuccessful in receiving funding for this opportunity,  the ACT proposal identifies a viable workplan worth pursuing in the future.