Item #110 Amendment to Climate Equity Plan

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Ann Kitchen
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:04 pm

Item #110 Amendment to Climate Equity Plan

Post by Ann Kitchen »

Colleagues

My apologies for this late post - and thank you to CM Alter for her work on the Climate Equity Plan and all the cosponsors for supporting this important effort.

I have a few amendments that I am hoping are friendly to the author. They are intended to provide some additional clarity for the timeline of the next steps on implementation.

Below is the amended language

Best
Ann Kitchen
City Council D5

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN: The Austin City Council affirms its commitment to the new and more aggressive timeline to achieve net-zero community-wide emissions of 2040 outlined within the 2021 Climate Equity Plan.

In adopting the 2021 Climate Equity Plan, the City Council recognizes that how the City of Austin achieves net zero emissions will have a direct impact on the lives of its residents, and therefore directs the City Manager to use the strategies and goals outlined in the 2021 Climate Plan to achieve a just transition that addresses the disproportionate impacts of the climate emergency on low-income
communities and communities of color as we meet our emission goals.

NEW LANGUAGE - THIS CLAUSE BELOW IS PROPOSED TO BE ADDED:
In order to ensure that policy changes needed to implement this plan are considered on a regular basis, the City Council commits to establishing a Workgroup of Council to lead that work, to report back to the full Council and in cooperation with other existing committees, when appropriate. All Councilmembers wishing to participate may be included in this Workgroup

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City Manager is directed to create a public-facing, accessible dashboard, webpage, or similar mechanism to provide up-to-date information on the methods and metrics on the City’s progress in implementing the 2021 Climate Equity Plan and net-zero goals overall. The information presented should include aspects of other City plans (such as the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan and the Austin Energy Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan) that have an impact on reducing community-wide emissions.

The City Manager is further directed to provide regular accessible public engagement opportunities regarding the implementation of the climate plan, and to
evaluate extending the Climate Ambassador program to incorporate the implementation stage of the 2021 Climate Equity Plan. THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE IS PROPOSED TO ADD: The City Manager is directed to return by November 1, 2021, with a schedule and approach for these public engagement opportunities and plans related to extending the Climate Ambassador program, as part of identifying and defining leadership responsibilities as directed in the 2nd Be It Resolved above.

The City Council additionally supports updating bylaws for the Joint Sustainability Committee to add additional members to the committee from the Austin community, appointed by City Council. The City Council recognizes and appreciates the role of the Joint Sustainability Committee in advancing the City’s climate goals and (THE REST OF THIS SENTENCE IS PROPOSED TO ADD) recognizes the benefit of a racial diversity in this work and commits to appointing new members that will improve racial diversity on the committee. The City Manager is directed to return by November 1, 2021 with a draft ordinance to update the bylaws of the Joint Sustainability Committee.
Ann Kitchen
Council Member District 5