The City of Atlanta’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSR) held an advisory board meeting on Aug. 18 with residents and local officials, including the city’s Chief Sustainability Officer Chandra Farley. With climate change impacting flooding in the city and major climate events becoming more frequent, local board meetings like this have become more important.
Additionally, with federal and global policies moving slowly, local board meetings like this offer the most direct avenue for residents to shape environmental policy in their backyards.
The specific policy point for this meeting, though, involved Atlanta’s Climate Resilience Action Plan. The core mission of the plan is to equip local neighborhoods and city infrastructure to withstand and recover from climate impacts.
The blueprint lays out five main climate resilience goals, each with a list of action items to be completed. These include building a network of affordable food within half a mile of all Atlantans by 2030, reducing the energy burden on the most burdened households by 10 percent and expanding low-carbon travel options in the city.
However, the spotlight for this meeting focused on two climate resilience goals: reaching 100 percent clean energy for all Atlantans by 2035 and achieving a 59 percent reduction in emissions from 2019 to 2030. The city aimed for a 25 percent reduction by last year, but current data shows Atlanta sitting at 21 percent, making more community action essential.
Despite this gap, the meeting highlighted some recent achievements. During the FIFA World Cup, multiple zero-waste events were hosted as more than 72,000 pounds of cardboard and 22,000 pounds of glass were recycled.
Focused working groups then presented updates on their key initiatives. These included two Net Zero Emissions Working Groups, a Community and Partner Engagement Working Group, and a Multimodal Transportation Working Group.
Some of the projects currently underway include a digital toolkit explaining upcoming Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) energy decisions, a citywide composting roadmap and a mobility survey to identify which transit options residents use most frequently.
After each working group presented, the floor was opened for questions. One resident asked about Atlanta Police Department’s vehicle electrification progress and if those EVs would be used in pursuits. Others asked about a recent PSC rule preventing power from shutting off during extreme heat.
After the questions were addressed, all attendees, including members of the public, voted on which action items they preferred to advance the goals of clean energy and emissions reduction. This was done to get a grasp on which initiatives locals were most invested in.
The three actions that those in attendance voted most for were establishing a citywide composting program, adopting an Atlanta climate budget and expanding solar energy. Notably, expanding solar energy along landfills, something Mayor Andre Dickens was interested in according to Farley, received more votes than any other action item.
If you are interested in attending the next meeting to learn more, it is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 8.
The post The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience hosts “Climate Resilient ATL” advisory board meeting appeared first on SaportaReport.
