The Eugene City Council committed to addressing climate change at today’s work session, approving the Climate Action Plan 2.0 (CAP 2.0) (7 in favor, none opposed). Hundreds of community members provided input and participated in the CAP 2.0 planning process.
The focus of the CAP 2.0 Project is to continue to foster the actions of the City, as well as our community’s agencies, companies and organizations, in moving toward carbon neutrality, reduced fossil fuel use, adapting to climate change.
“Under the Climate Action Plan 2.0, the City leads by example, committing to reducing the organization’s carbon footprint,” says Mayor Lucy Vinis. “The City and community partners are stepping up to take a leadership role as we work to achieve our community climate goals.”
The CAP 2.0 project plan was developed in consultation with the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Climate Recovery Ordinance Work Group; the Eugene Climate Collaborative comprised of systems-level partner agencies; an Equity Panel made up of six local organizations; and extensive community outreach including open houses, focus groups and surveys.
“This plan is unique because it shifts our community climate work in many important ways,” said Chelsea Clinton, Sustainability Manager. “We got specific about what climate change is projected to mean for Eugene by 2100 – it’s impacts on our weather, water, and more. We committed to action to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to create a more resilient community and focused our engagement to grow community capacity to address climate change.”
The data-driven CAP 2.0 utilizes inventories and projections to target high impact practices and other actions that will reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. The CAP 2.0 plan includes 115 Actions committed to by the City of Eugene and the Eugene Climate Collaborative Partners; 41 Equity Recommendations from the CAP2.0 Equity Panel; 25 State and Federal Actions highlighting the importance of action at all levels.