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 conserva...
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