In Boise, Mayor Lauren McLean’s Climate Solutions will Endure for Generations

Last year, the City of Boise saw its second-warmest summer ever, with nearly twice as many days over 100 degrees than 30 years ago. And, according to Boise’s Climate Adaptation Assessment, these hotter, high-risk days are expected to become more common.

Mayor Lauren McLean is fighting back by using trees as a critical component of Boise’s climate strategy. Trees are crucial to fighting climate change: they help remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen into the atmosphere. In fact, one mature tree can absorb up to 50 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Considering that, in 2020, the U.S. emitted more than 13.2 trillion pounds in greenhouse gas emissions, we need more cities to incorporate planting trees into their local strategies as part of our collective fight against climate change.

Three years ago, Boise launched the City of Trees Challenge. By the end of this year, the city is aiming to plant 235,000 seedlings — one for every resident. In addition to absorbing carbon, more trees often means lower average temperatures and better air quality.

So far, the city has planted 149,000 saplings in local forests and 15,290 urban trees within the city limits. Now, these trees are pulling more than 155,000 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere every year, and they are helping residents save approximately $300,000 on energy costs every summer.

These trees are expected to pull nearly 40 million pounds of CO2 and 312,000 pounds of other pollutants from the air and help residents conserve more than 47 million kWh of energy over the next 50 years — and thousands of new trees will bring these estimates even higher.

For Mayor McLean, local climate solutions are critical. “I think it’s been a great advantage and because, really, it’s mayors, local governments, tribes, and others that know best, because we work side by side with our residents, how we need to prepare our own communities for a climate-constrained future,” she said in an interview with the Washington Post.

Mayor McLean is also working to cultivate a new generation of climate leaders. Her 12-member Youth Climate Action Council unites students and young people from across Boise to “imagine, strategize, and build projects” that take action on climate issues. For example, the council recently launched an exhibit on the impact of climate change on urban planning in Boise, and it’s planning a summit to engage with high school students on climate issues.

The City has also collaborated with Idaho Power on clean energy purchases and has made significant investments to make city facilities more energy efficient. Under the mayor’s leadership, the city of Boise is ahead of schedule to power the city government’s operations with 100% clean energy.

And with emissions dropping, Boise is seeing results.

As we celebrate Earth Day 2023, Mayor McLean sees an opening for success and broad support. “I’m optimistic that as hard as it is to come up with these solutions, and then to create the change we need to see to protect this community, that we’ll be able to do it,” she said.

Follow USCM’s Medium and social media accounts this week for more stories showcasing local climate action.