A new Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seeks to keep the earth from becoming “a giant, raging fire ball floating atop a bubbling hot ocean of acid,” writes Gwendolyn Knapp for Houstonia magazine.

Knapp praised the city of Houston for launching a Climate Action Plan, along with hundreds of other U.S. cities with “like-minded, science-backed, and community-driven strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” just in time for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

“The city intends to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and lead the global energy transition,” Knapp declares. “It will target four main areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the plan has the support of major energy industry players and environmental groups alike, including Shell, Chevron, BP, NRG, The Nature Conservancy, Air Alliance Houston, and more.”

On Wednesday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released the Houston Climate Action Plan, which incorporates “evidenced-based measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preventative measures to address the negative outcomes of climate change.”

“I am proud to introduce the city of Houston’s first Climate Action Plan,” Mayor Turner said in rolling out the program. “These are difficult and challenging times, but this is a historic moment for the City of Houston.”

“While we are currently forced to change the way we physically do business, our work must go on,” Turner said. “We must deal with the challenges facing us today and prepare for those facing us tomorrow.”

“That’s why we chose today – the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day – to release our Climate Action Plan and let everyone know that although it seems like every aspect of our lives has changed, we are more committed than ever to building a more sustainable and resilient Houston,” he said.

Environmental groups have been struggling to keep people focused on the purported climate crisis in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Climate change is a moral, religious and justice issue,” the official Earth Day website announced for the 50th anniversary on April 22.

For its part, the organizers of the COP26 climate summit, which has been postponed until 2021, have continued urging people not to forget the climate emergency in the midst of other health concerns.

“While coronavirus may force us to keep our distance, tackling Climate Change must remain a top priority,” the group tweeted Wednesday.

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