TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Kent Edwards, Sustainability Officer
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: April 22, 2025
Title
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Review a presentation of the draft Climate Action Plan and provide direction.
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Background:
Climate change is directly affecting Delray Beach and will be more and more in the future. Warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall events are already widespread. We’ve also seen hurricanes strengthen to Category 5 status very quickly, causing major damage to other South Florida cities.
A main contributing factor leading to the extreme rainfall and tropical storms, is the elevated temperatures both in the ocean and atmosphere. To address these threats, the City should take deliberate steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and prepare for impacts due to increased heat, heavy rain events, major tropical storms, etc.
A great deal of foundational work has been done to get to this point where a Climate Action Plan (CAP) has been be developed for the City. Adding to this, priorities, activities, and milestones to address climate threats will be an effective way to guide actions and ensure progress.
The City completed a GHG Inventory in October 2022, using data for 2019. The report found that 549,032 MTCO2e were generated in Delray Beach by all sources, with transportation accounting for 52%, and commercial and residential buildings generating 44% of emissions. In May 2023, a presentation on the GHG Inventory report was given to City Commission. The presentation summarized GHG data and included recommended GHG emission reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Throughout 2023, the Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSAR) organized regular outreach activities highlighting topics related to climate action planning, including green buildings, GHG inventory, water conservation, tree planting, water quality, green businesses, recycling, coral restoration, habitat restoration, stormwater flood insurance, and native plants.
Also during 2023, the Commission-appointed Green Implementation Advancement Board (GIAB) submitted a memo to the City Commission, recommending development of a CAP.
The Commission adopted Resolution 201-23 in November 2023, supporting implementation of the Regional Climate Action Plan version 3 (RCAPv3), written by the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact. OSAR developed a Climate Action Planning Survey (Survey) to gather public input, based on the RCAPv3 and multiple other surveys and CAPs from local governments, including Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and Broward County.
The Survey grouped issues into six sections: Energy - Built Environment, Green Infrastructure and Natural Environment, Water, Waste, Transportation, and Climate Resilience. The Survey opened during Earth Month (April 2024) and ran until the week after Climate & Culture, September 16, 2024. During this period, extensive outreach and advertising was done through City social media, displays in multiple locations with a link to the Survey, email blasts by the City and partners, booths at the Green Market, an event during First Friday Art Walk, several presentations and webinars, and more. More than 350 responses to the Survey were received, and overall, more than 80% of responses indicated that a CAP should be developed.
The most popular selections, i.e. priority Challenges, from each of the six Survey sections, were the following:
ENERGY - BUILT ENVIRONMENT: Energy Efficiency of City Facilities, Community Energy Efficiency (Residential and Business), and Renewable Energy and Storage at City Facilities
WASTE: Waste Reduction, Expand City’s Recycling Program (Multi-family, Commercial), and Awareness of Environmentally Preferred Products
TRANSPORTATION: Multi-modal Transportation, Regional Public Transportation, and Increase Fuel Efficiency of City Fleet
WATER: Enhance Stormwater System to Manage Extreme Rainfall Events, Water Use Efficiency/Conservation Program, and Hardening of Water-related Infrastructure
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE and NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: Dune Restoration, Tree Planting Program, Protection of Existing Trees, Parks Habitat Restoration, and Coral Reef Restoration
CLIMATE RESILIENCE: Tree Planting Program, Enhance Stormwater System to Manage Extreme Rainfall Events, Dune Restoration, and Coral Reef Restoration
Overarching principles to be incorporated into all CAP efforts are Outreach and Fairness.
In November 2024 the Survey results were presented to City Commission, and they supported development of a draft CAP. Subsequently OSAR worked with City staff and partners, to brainstorm Strategies to accomplish the priority Challenges identified in the Survey. The priority Challenges and Strategies were presented to the public for a final round of public input, beginning in February 2025. This draft CAP briefly describes each of the Strategies. Once the CAP is approved, workgroups can be formed for specific Strategies, to lay out a plan of action including goals, and then implementation will begin.
City Attorney Review:
NA
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
None is specifically included, though some Climate Action Plan projects will entail costs, and others cost-savings, which would be considered prior to implementation.
Timing of Request:
NA