Resilient New Orleans
The resilience of New Orleans is often attributed to our history and culture. Our collective memory is shaped by the experiences of those people from around the world who for nearly three centuries have built and adapted our city in the challenging delta landscape of Southeast Louisiana. We are both a city of the past and the future, already experiencing the climate change impacts other cities are beginning to consider. The future New Orleans depends upon our ability to grow our culture of adaptability into a culture of stewardship and action.
In 2015, the City released one of the world’s first resilience strategies, Resilient New Orleans, with support from 100 Resilient Cities and the Rockefeller Foundation. Using the city's resilience strategy, the Office of Resilience and Sustainability supports City departments and agencies to implement comprehensive resilience and sustainability projects.
Read the full Resilient New Orleans Strategy
CIty's Climate Action Plan: Net Zero by 2050
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a collection of climate scientists assembled by the United Nations, released a report in 2021 detailing the “unprecedented” pace of climate change. The report outlined the catastrophic impacts that lie ahead unless humans quickly cut greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC report called for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions globally of at least 45% by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emission by 2050.
In response to this crisis, the City of New Orleans has joined the State of Louisiana, the Biden-Harris, and thousands of cities worldwide to set a science-based target to reduce climate pollution. Climate action planning is an iterative process in which we plan, implement, monitor, and adjust continuously as we learn. It is led by the City but not done solely by government. Collaboration with residents, businesses, non-profits, and advocacy groups is critical to implementing meaningful change.
This plan refreshes our priorities and provides an update since the City’s first Climate Action Plan was released in 2017. A draft of this plan was shared with stakeholders in 2022.
Read the City's updated Climate Action Plan here.
Equity and Environmental Justice
From March 2018 through September 2019, ORS staff worked with representatives from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and community and climate leaders throughout the city in on the Taking Steps Together on Equity and Climate Change report, which charts a path for how the City can equitably implement the 2017 Climate Action Plan. Feedback from this report and the Climate Action Equity Working Group were incorporated into the City’s 2022 Climate Action Plan.
Read the Climate Equity Report here.
Moving New Orleans: The Road to Equitable Transportation
The Moving New Orleans Transportation Action Plan, Mayor Cantrell’s vision for the future of our city's transportation network, focuses on safety, equity, efficiency and connectivity across all modes of transportation. Originally released in early 2019, the plan guides the transportation agenda of the Cantrell Administration and the activities of the Mayor's Office of Transportation. In September 2021, the Office released an update of the Moving New Orleans Action Plan, focused on the progress and accomplishments in recent years and the opportunities ahead.
Moving New Orleans Update, September 2021
Moving New Orleans Transportation Action Plan, May 2019