Richfield Council Approves City’s First Climate Action Plan

Press release from the City of Richfield:

October 21, 2020

Despite 2020 being the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it unfortunately has also been a year of unprecedented impacts from global climate change.

The “new normal” in terms of climate change means more frequent flooding in the central United States, a longer and more costly wildfire season in California, and droughts across the Great Plains. The sooner action is taken, the better chance Americans, and citizens around the world, have at preventing the direst impacts of the rapidly warming world.

The good news is that global momentum around climate change is swelling. According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, six in 10 Americans are now either “alarmed" or “concerned” about climate change, a number that has more than doubled in the past five years.

The City of Richfield is continuing to try and do its part to curb climate change by adopting a Climate Action Plan, which took place at the regular City Council meeting held on October 13.

“I hear a lot from residents about the importance of making Richfield a more sustainable place to live, learn, work and play,” said Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez. “The city’s new climate action plan demonstrates that we take climate change seriously and are willing to make the hard choices to do our part in reversing its effects.”

A climate action plan is a document that highlights specific goals and actions an organization wants to achieve in their sustainability, mitigation, and resiliency efforts. From organization to organization, these plans usually share similar goals and actions, but are specifically tailored by the individual group that is putting it together.

“The city benefits from having this climate action plan because it compiles several related goals and inter-departmental objectives in one place,” explained Sustainability Specialist Rachel Lindholm. “This helps construct a better holistic understanding of the sustainability goals city staff and elected officials are committed to.”

The plan also organizes the strategic direction of the city’s Sustainability Specialist and Sustainability Commission for at least the next five years.

Specifically, the climate action plan focuses on eight areas and outlines more than 80 actions.

“A lot of climate action plans out there are very big picture, but lacking in specific details,” asserted Ward 3 Councilmember Ben Whalen. “This plan has clear steps and we will know each year if we are succeeding or not at working toward our goal of becoming a more sustainable city.”

Several aspects of the climate action plane are already underway; include existing partnerships, like Partners in Energy, which aims to help the city achieve its energy goals and assist local residents and businesses in reducing their energy bills and carbon footprints.

One of the critical elements of the city’s climate action plan deals with resident education and volunteerism.

“We’re eager to create and share more education and volunteering opportunities with Richfield community members as we all work towards building a more sustainable city,” remarked Lindholm. “Residents have led many sustainability efforts over the past few years and it’s exciting to know that this is a community valued effort!”

Residents can view the city’s Climate Action Plan by visiting: www.richfieldmn.gov/ClimateActionPlan

This press release was produced by the City of Richfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.