Prince George's County Shows Progress on Climate Resilience and Adaptation

This is an excerpt from From The Desk of CEX, a Prince George's Proud blog by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Read the full blog post here.

Our Climate Action Implementation Task Force recently delivered the completed Climate Action Implementation Strategies Report, a detailed look at recommendations that can help Prince George’s County progress towards being a Climate Resilient County. We’re so grateful for the Task Force’s service and their hard work on the report. 

Our Climate Action Plan and Goals

The Prince George’s County Climate Action Plan (CAP) was put forth in 2021 to help the County reach its carbon emissions goal of 50% reduction by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. With the growing cost and impacts of climate-related disasters, the Climate Action Plan outlines bold action for the County government, residents, and businesses to work together for a future where all residents share the benefits of healthy air, clean water, job opportunities, and safe places to live, work and play. 

Task Force and Recommendations

Since 2022, the Climate Action Implementation Task Force and its working groups have met on an ongoing basis to formulate recommendations that will help the County progress towards those goals. I want to thank Chair Andrea Crooms , Vice-Chair Jonathan R. Butler , and the entire Climate Action Implementation Task Force for the hard work they’ve done to help further this mission. These recommendations will be reviewed seriously as we continue our efforts to be an environmentally friendly County. 

Ongoing Progress and Initiatives

I am proud to say that Prince George’s County has been consistently moving towards being climate resilient. It has been a community-wide drive, and the work is progressing in ways that align with the focus of the Climate Action Implementation Task Force. Beautification has been one of our Proud Priorities from the beginning of my administration, as we’ve invested tens of millions of dollars into programs across the government to improve the health of our environment and the aesthetics of our County. 

For example, Prince George’s County was ranked as the top County in the State for recycling and waste diversion/source reduction.

Beautification Initiatives

Our “Part of It, Proud of It” Beautification Initiative that launched in 2019 set zero waste goals for the County, a mission in line with the State of Maryland’s goal of 85% waste diversion by the year 2040. During the first term, the campaign saw more than 5,800 tons of litter collected from County streets and led to the installation of 64 BigBelly dual solar trash and recycling stations at bus stops throughout the County. 

Food waste once made up nearly 24% of the garbage at the County landfill. Our PGC Composts program that we started in 2022 diverts tons of organic materials away from the landfill and to the Prince George’s County Organics Facility.  

We’ve also invested in programs like our Clear the Curb Initiative, 120-day litter blitz, Median Beautification Program, and “Growing Green with Pride” community cleanup days. We have continued multiple initiatives like Our “Right Tree Right Place” program which has planted over 10,000 trees since 2011, and our Urban Tree Grant Program planted 2,000 trees in equity areas of the County through March of this year, targeted to municipalities historically deprived of tree canopy. 

The County also began transitioning to zero-emission buses to have a transit fleet of 100% zero-emissions buses by 2040 and recently received a USDOT Low or No Emission Grant of 25 million dollars to help us purchase 20 battery-powered buses to aid in this effort. 

Future Investments in Beautification & Climate Resiliency

The County’s proposed budget for FY2025 builds on these investments, funding our Clean Lots programs and setting aside funding for street sweeping, litter pickup, and clear-the-curb programs. 

We’re continuing to invest in our stormwater management fund, which is an important part of our work to make our community more climate resilient. We’re also funding our stormwater stewardship grant and raincheck rebate programs, which make stormwater management affordable for residents and businesses, and funding our Clean Water Partnership to improve stormwater infrastructure and water quality.

We will continue working to keep our County clean, beautiful, and climate-friendly. I appreciate the work of the Climate Action Implementation Task Force and the teamwork everyone has contributed in order to make our beautification initiatives a success, from our government agencies to the Prince Georgians who partner with us on this work every day. Together, Team Prince George’s can make this County strong and beautiful for generations to come. 

Yours In Service, 

Angela Alsobrooks

Prince George's County Executive 

Read the full blog post at: cex.mypgc.us

Photography Credit: Joshua White

Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Economic Development Angie Rodgers and Revenue Authority Executive Director Denise Nelson Robinson cutting ribbon at Pepco EVsmart charger station event in Prince George's County, MD. Shout out to our amazing partner on this event, Pepco !