Evanston City Council Approves Climate Emergency Resolution

Evanston IL

27 April, 2022

10:21 AM

Description

From the City of Evanston: The Evanston City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a resolution declaring a climate emergency as well as an immediate mobilization effort to restore climate stability. In adopting the resolution, Evanston joins more than 2,000 jurisdictions representing 1 billion people worldwide that have formally declared a climate emergency, renewing the City's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience with a focus on community partnerships. The resolution calls for the City Council to adopt implementation of the City's Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) as a City Council goal, further committing to regularly reviewing the City's progress, and revising targets to reflect the most recent science, data and best practices. "This resolution renews our City's longstanding commitment to climate action and enumerates short-term action steps that will guide our work and allow the community to hold us accountable," said Mayor Daniel Biss. "We recognize that climate change poses a life-altering threat not only to our city, but to all of humanity, and that continued action is urgently needed to mitigate its short-term and long-term impacts and build community resilience." Drafted by the Evanston Environment Board, the resolution received support from a number of local organizations, including Environmental Justice Evanston, Citizens' Greener Evanston, E-Town Sunrise, District 65 Climate Action Team, League of Women Voters of Evanston, Evanston Environmental Association, Democratic Party of Evanston Climate Action Team, Citizens Climate Lobby, The Climate Reality Project: Chicago Metro Chapter, 350.org Chicago Chapter, and Beth Emet Dayenu Circle. Adopted in 2018, the City's CARP calls for reaching ambitious emissions reduction targets over the next several decades on a path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The City has already made progress towards this and other CARP goals, including: Reducing emissions citywide by 27 percent since 2005 Achieving 100 percent renewable energy for municipal operations through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) Passing a resolution in support of environmental justice Improving equitable access to Evanston's beaches by providing free admission for all residents In March, the City was awarded $500,000 in federal funding to implement an accessible solar program for low-income residents, adding to the existing community choice aggregation and community solar program options offered by the City. For more information about Evanston's climate action efforts, visit cityofevanston.org/climate or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 311 in Evanston. This news release was produced by the City of Evanston. The views expressed here are the author's own.