Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Leonard Vialpando
Department: Environmental Protection Division: Choose a Division.
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO APPROVE updated Broward County Climate Change Action Plan (2020) and directing staff to collaborate with community partners to implement the recommended actions to reduce regional carbon emissions and strengthen our resilience to the effects of global climate change.
body
Why Action is Necessary
Board action is necessary to formally approve the Broward County Climate Change Action Plan (2020).
What Action Accomplishes
This action approves the Climate Change Action Plan and its implementation.
Is this Action Goal Related
Yes
Previous Action Taken
None taken
Summary Explanation/Background
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE BROWARD COUNTY CLIMATE CHANGE TASK FORCE (TASK FORCE) RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the Board’s Value of “Encouraging investment in renewable energy, sustainable practices and environmental protection” Goal 2: "Proactively lead in the planning, design and construction of projects to support community resilience and climate adaptation, including coordination with other entities to foster resilient design as part of local and regional projects and Goal 4: “Educate the public about the impacts of severe weather, sea level rise, and climate change” through policy and planning focused on climate resiliency and strategies to reduce risk, minimize the potential for economic losses, and protect the health of our communities and environment
The Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) is a community-wide strategy to be implemented by local government, community partners and residents to address the economic, environmental, and social impacts of climate change (Exhibit 1). The actions are focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing community resiliency by building stronger communities and infrastructure, and prioritizing green infrastructure and natural resource protections as part of our regional resiliency strategy, with a focus on preserving the County’s economic integrity and the continuity of critical services through planning and adaptation measures necessary to address local climate impacts.
Since the approval of the CCAP in 2015, 100% of the original 96 actions have been implemented, including 20 high priority actions. As part of the process of updating the CCAP, Climate Change Task Force Subcommittee meetings and Climate Action Planning Workgroup meetings were held to review the performance of the 2015 plan, discuss current needs and potential actions by category and identify community priorities. Participants included community members, subject matter experts representing agency staff and industry, as well as Task Force members. Recommendations from the Climate Change Task Force were used to draft and update the CCAP.
The CCAP has two primary goals: 1) mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 80% by 2050 and 2) increase the resilience of our community to the effects of climate change. To achieve these goals, the plan includes seven objectives with a series of actions to support each one during implementation over the next five years. The objectives are as follows:
• Policy: Create collaborative intergovernmental practices by developing joint legislative policies which raise the awareness at state and federal levels on the vulnerability of Southeast Florida and advocate for increased state and federal funding for mitigation and adaptation projects.
• Healthy Community: Deliver climate change educational information to all audiences, engage stakeholders to collectively address climate impacts and increase community resilience.
• Transportation: Optimize connectivity across transportation sectors and modes of transportation and assessing and addressing system vulnerabilities through projects.
• Built Environment: Support sea-level rise and future conditions adaptation planning, development of resilient design standards, modeling and monitoring, encouraging septic to sewer connections and increased coordination for the advancement of infrastructure resilience.
• Energy Resources: Move the community toward an energy-efficient future by
increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, expanding renewable and alternative energy accessibility, electrifying transportation operations, creating incentive programs for solar and electric vehicles, reducing waste and supporting weatherization of homes to reduce energy burden.
• Natural Systems: Increasing the resilience of parks, natural areas, shorelines and reefs through plastic and pollution reduction and building the natural adaptation capacity.
• Water Resources: Safeguard the water supply through conservation, reuse and adaptation, including future climate in planning, and promoting green infrastructure and flood mitigation.
Using available resources and community partnerships, the actions will result in measurable progress towards the County’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, energy goals and addressing climate change. The plan requires the cooperation and participation of multiple agencies and community partners to meet the stated goals and objectives.
The Climate Change Task Force, co-chaired by Broward County Commissioners Beam Furr and Senator Nan Rich, voted to support the CCAP and its implementation on May 5, 2021. The plan is aligned with policies within the Climate Change Element of the Comprehensive Plan and the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact's Regional Climate Action Plan.
Source of Additional Information
Dr. Jennifer Jurado, Chief Resilience Officer and Deputy Director
Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department
954-519-1464
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
There is no fiscal impact associated with the approval of this plan. Actions within the plan will be implemented with available resources and by seeking partnerships and grant awards for additional funding (if necessary).