TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Kent Edwards, Sustainability Officer
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: November 7, 2023
Title
RESOLUTION NO. 201-23, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, ENDORSING THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA CLIMATE ACTION PLEDGE; AGREEING TO JOINTLY ADVANCE STRATEGIC CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION PLANNING, PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND PROJECTS; AND ADVANCING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIONAL CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AS APPROPRIATE FOR EACH GOVERNMENT.
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to Approve Resolution No. 201-23 endorsing the Southeast Florida Climate Action Pledge.
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Background:
Instituted in 2010, the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (the Compact) established Southeast Florida as one of the nation’s earliest leaders to conceive of and formalize a collaborative regional approach to address climate change. In 2012, the Compact codified its vision in its first Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP), which is revised on a five-year cycle. The RCAP serves Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, inclusive of 109 municipal governments, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, encompassing a total regional population of more than 6.2 million people.
In the most recent update (RCAP 3.0), the RCAP continues to serve as a comprehensive set of recommended actions and interdependent strategies across 11 focal areas, advancing objectives to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It is a voluntary framework designed to accelerate local and regional climate action in Southeast Florida toward a shared vision of a low-carbon, healthy, prosperous, more equitable and more resilient region.
Recognizing that action by individual stakeholders is critical to meeting the collective challenges, the RCAP calls on all entities and leaders across the region to take part in developing and implementing the plan, including the public and private sectors, as well as civil society. In this spirit, the RCAP 3.0 was developed with input from more than 150 subject matter experts as well as community members and stakeholders. Ultimately, the success of the RCAP depends on the ability to encourage broad and enduring engagement among stakeholders who will translate these recommendations into action.
The Climate Action Pledge was first developed in 2012 after the release of the first RCAP document. In recognition of the central role that local and tribal governments play in advancing strategic climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, the Compact invited all local and tribal governments in the four-county region to affirm their commitment by adopting the Southeast Florida Climate Action Pledge. More than a third of local and tribal governments joined the four counties in adopting the 2012 Pledge.
The Compact has updated the Climate Action Pledge to align with the RCAP 3.0 update and to reaffirm our shared commitment to a regionally collaborative approach to achieving climate adaptation and mitigation objectives. Delray Beach will be the fifth city overall to adopt the pledge, and the first in Palm Beach County.
City Attorney Review:
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency.
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
Adopting the Climate Action Pledge entails no direct financial impact. Following through on steps that are consistent with the pledge could entail financial costs. Any financial cost would need to be approved through normal budget and purchasing processes.
Timing of Request:
NA