The Austin Climate Equity Plan Revisions to be Presented to Council in Hopes of Approval
Oct. 22, 2020
Austin, TX – The revised Climate Equity plan is on track to be presented to Austin City Council either Oct. 29 or Nov. 12. One of the major revisions from the 2015 plan was moving the target year for net zero emissions from 2050 to 2040. This entails more aggressive emissions reductions for the City of Austin.
The Joint Sustainability Committee of the Austin City Council met over Zoom on Sept. 25 to discuss progress on the updates and revisions of the Climate Equity Plan before presenting to the City Council for approval.
“So, by implementing these actions, hopefully we can save people money,” said The Office of Sustainability Climate Program Manager, Zach Baumer. “We can make people’s lives easier. We can improve people’s health.”
The Austin Climate Equity Plan development began in 2014, after the city council decided to target a net zero carbon emission by 2050, and was later adopted by the city council in June of 2015. The plan focuses on five sections: Sustainable Buildings, Transportation Electrification, Transportation and Land Use, Natural Systems, and Consumption. Each section includes specific goals that need to be accomplished by 2030 to keep the council on track.
“The No. 1 thing is, and why we’re doing this, we want to avoid catastrophic climate change,” said Baumer. “Globally we have to all reduce our emissions to a net of actually zero because we have put so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We’ve already changed the atmosphere, the climate has changed, and it’s going to continue to change if we don’t slow it down to stop it.”
Written into the plan in 2015 was the reevaluation and revision of the plan every five years. Baumer said this was because science and the world continue to change, so they wanted to update the plan as necessary.
“And if we can sort of reverse [the focus on fossil fuels] and be focused on renewable energy and simpler solutions and just not using as much fossil fuels, then we not only get this win of reducing emissions but then also make people’s lives better, which is kind of the purpose of city government,” said Baumer.
Another key element of the plan is the focus on “equity” versus “equality.” Baumer said although equality on the surface is a “core tenet of how government is supposed to operate,” it merely perpetuates injustice. The plan includes strategies that “prioritize low-income communities and communities of color,” each of which was evaluated using an in-depth equity analysis tool.
“The only way that you’re actually going to tilt the scale backwards to address injustices and to help people who need it most, is to do some things with equity,” Baumer said, “which equity is giving people something that they need, not giving everybody the same share.”
The co-founders of Coloring Environmentalism, a student organization at The University of Texas at Austin focused on sustainability in minority communities, said they are hopeful about the Climate Equity Plan and how it will address the “source of disparities in climate issues in Austin.”
“Social equity is addressing the historical and structural boundaries impacting the differences in quality of life for minorities,” they said. “The plan sounds like it is attempting to address the real effects of Austin’s historical actions instead of promoting a policy in name only, which is ultimately their responsibility.”
Baumer said there’s a lot of support from the other Board of Commissioners. “Everybody is glad that we put that in,” he said to the Joint Sustainability Committee on Sept. 25. To help promote equity, the Community Climate Ambassadors program was implemented. Ambassadors worked to “reach historically underrepresented groups, specifically, people of color,” to engage in conversations surrounding climate change.
Another stakeholder happy with the focus on equity is senior UT Austin student, Jada Haynes. Although currently living in Houston, she’s glad that there’s a plan in place for Austin.
“Equity over equality is very important as very often underrepresented groups can’t afford the more eco-friendly options,” Haynes said. “And the places that they live are often much more impacted by these climate issues rather than regularly represented groups.”
While the implementation of climate solutions is important, the promotion of equity is what sets this plan apart from others. Baumer believes it’s important to think about racial equity when designing plans so they “don’t just exacerbate the existing economic unfairness that we have through city programs.” The plan was designed to focus on people who need the most help first.
“So, I think this is just that equality versus equity is going to be the story of where this conversation goes in the coming years,” he said.
With climate change as an ongoing issue, Baumer said there’s still lots of plans and work to do. Although approval from the Austin City Council is the next step, implementation and development in the future is still a large part of the process.
“I would say that this is not the end,” Baumer said. “This is not a final answer, and this is not the end of this conversation.”
These statements are from both Daija Chambers and Johari Weaver, the co-founders of Coloring Environmentalism. Johari is a Junior Sustainability Studies and Geography major, and Daija is a Senior Government and Sustainability Studies major. Johari is the current President and Daija serves as the Vice President.