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Mitigation [PDF]
Sustanability and mitigation is all about reducing NPS greenhouse gas emissions. These actions focus on reducing our carbon footprint by using less energy, consuming fewer materials, and appropriately altering our land management practices can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The NPS seeks to be a role model in sustainabilty and mitigation by demonstrating climate friendly practices in how we manage our facilities, vehicles, and lands.
The Climate Change Response Program partners with the Sustainable Operations and Climate Change (SOCC) branch of the Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands Directorate to coordinate across the agency on sustainability and climate change.
Green Parks Plan: The NPS Plan for Sustainable Operations
The Green Parks Plan (GPP) defines a collective vision and a long-term strategic plan for sustainable management of NPS operations. A critical component of the implementation of the GPP will be informing and engaging park staff, visitors, and community partners about climate change and sustainability to broaden opportunities to foster change.
Sustainability and Facilities: SOCC
As part of the Park Facility Management Division, the Sustainable Operations and Climate Change branch (SOCC) ensures that parks consider the impacts of climate change before building, renovating or making significant capital investments into NPS facilities. The SOCC is developing guidance and tools to assist park planners in identifying the risks posed by climate change to proposed projects, and to make educated and calculated adaptation, siting, construction and repair and rehabilitation decisions
Climate Friendly Parks: Park-level Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plans and Mitigation Projects
The Climate Friendly Parks program (CFP) is one component of the National Park Service Green Parks Plan, an integrated approach by the NPS to address climate change through implementing sustainable practices in our operations. This effort forms part of the larger NPS Climate Change Response Strategy [PDF] and the latest NPS Climate Change Action Plan [PDF].
Founded in 2003, CFP represents a partnership between the SOCC branch of Park Facility Management Division and the Air Resources Division. The CFP program provides the tools and technical and financial support for parks to assess and decrease their emissions and to educate staff and visitors about climate change. Through the program, parks develop sustainability/climate action plans that involve improving energy efficiency, using renewable energy resources, reducing waste, and managing wastewater and runoff. They also begin envisioning how they will adapt to future climatic scenarios.
The Climate Friendly Parks program provides parks with the tools and resources to address climate change. The program aims to provide national parks with comprehensive support to address climate change both within park boundaries and the surrounding community.
Clean Cities partners with the National Park Service through the Clean Cities National Parks Initiative to support transportation projects that educate park visitors on the benefits of cutting petroleum use and vehicle emissions. This initiative complements the NPS Climate Friendly Parks program by demonstrating the environmental benefits of cutting petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Last updated: April 8, 2021