Indianapolis City-County Council moves forward with carbon credit resolution

December 8, 2022

The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 18-5 Monday to support an effort to protect and generate revenue for the maintenance of urban forests and trees throughout the city of Indianapolis and Marion County.

The special resolution supports the city-county council’s exploration and development of a forest and tree carbon credit resolution and requires an update on this process within a year. It also calls for a carbon program that would fund the city's urban forests and trees.

Councillor Dan Boots, District 3, showed his support for the special resolution, noting it to be another opportunity to enact part of the Thrive Indianapolis plan.

“As we all know we have 214 parks in the city, yet we are one of the lowest per capita spends in the United States,” Boots said. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. We need to increase our tree canopy in this county. We need to protect and preserve it. We need to be better stewards of our parks and urban forests.

“I am again very supportive of the city’s efforts to study this particularly through creating additional revenue sources through possibly selling credits through the carbon sequestration provided by these trees.”

Councillor La Keisha Jackson, District 14, also showed support for the special resolution.

“This gives us an opportunity to be a legacy for this council for generations to come … So many times, Indianapolis is lacking, and we trail. This gives the opportunity to be ahead and be innovative in the game on something and put our footprint without leaving a footprint,” Jackson said.

Indianapolis City-County Council moves forward with carbon credit resolution

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