Send in your comments by June 3 on the draft City of Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan. https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/climate-equity/
Step 1 – read the plan
Read the draft of the 2023 Climate Equity Plan
Step 2 – provide feedback
After you read the draft plan, take the survey on the survey site.
RCC Comments to Strengthen the City of Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan, May 2, 2023
Plan Implementation – https://rccmn.co/collaborative-climate-implementation/
CITY OPERATIONS & ENTERPRISE LEADERSHIP (page 59) – RCC supports strategies 1 to 9 especially (1) Implement a Climate Legacy Initiative to support Climate Action (2) Establish an Enterprise Climate Equity Cabinet
- RCC recommends adding a Strategies 10 and 11 to maintain mutual accountability and transparency on actions taken & investments made (local, state, federal) during implementation
- Strategy 10 – Annual Climate Equity Plan Implementation Report & Budget Requests – each July city staff & the Enterprise Climate Equity Cabinet will give a status update report on Climate Equity Plan implementation to the Mayor, Council, Commissions, partners and public, in collaboration with the City’s Capital Long Range Improvement Committee.
- For each goal area and strategy, the report will include the steps taken, outcomes, gaps and budget requests for the upcoming year for all the goal areas and strategies.
- The mayor’s staff will then be able to consider including these budget requests in the draft City Budget they will present to the City Council in August for the next year.
- Strategy 11 – Launch Collaborative implementation of the Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan – with Topic-Specific Implementation Teams – including city, county, state, nonprofit, business, community-based implementation partners) to align & secure local state & federal funding, solve capacity gaps, streamline implementation, facilitate shared-learning & maintain mutual accountability and transparency during implementation. A nationally recognized (local) Strategy Engagement Platform is Insight Vision.
GREEN ECONOMY & WORKFORCE – https://rccmn.co/green-jobs/
- RCC supports the Green Economy & Workforce goals & strategies in the plan! They line up well with the Clean Economy Goals in the State of MN Climate Action Framework & Hennepin Co Climate Action Plan.
- To mobilize external partnerships and needed resources we recommend adding –
- Strategy 9 – Coordinate quarterly with workforce development partners (DEED, Hennepin Co. nonprofit, businesses & unions) to plan and secure funding to scale up business and workforce development programs & investments to meet the increased needs for skilled contractors and employees for all the goal areas of the Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan
CLEAN AIR – https://rccmn.co/air-quality/ RCC supports the addition of these goals and strategies we had suggested.
Goal: – Study, mitigate and reduce outdoor and indoor air pollution to improve health outcomes in Minneapolis — with a focus on the Green Zones and other neighborhoods and households experiencing cumulative air quality impacts
Strategy 1 Co-convene, quarterly city/county/community air quality working group meetings to maintain mutual transparency & accountability to act on air quality data; reduce & mitigate air pollution; and improve health outcomes (with a focus on Green Zones and impacted Minneapolis neighborhoods.)
- Address cumulative air quality impacts in Green Zones and impacted Minneapolis neighborhoods.
- Act on city, state and community air monitoring data to reduce point & mobile source air pollution.
- Increase funding for healthy homes outreach and retrofits and neighborhood tree planting on blocks experiencing high levels of outdoor air pollution to improve their indoor air quality, reduce asthma triggers & improve health outcomes.
- Implement residential programs to monitor and improve indoor air quality, especially in air areas with higher-than-average asthma rates
Strategy 2 Address cumulative air quality impacts in Green Zones and impacted Minneapolis neighborhoods.
Strategy 3 Act on city, state and community air monitoring data to reduce point & mobile source air pollution
Strategy 4 Increase funding for healthy homes outreach and retrofits and neighborhood tree planting on blocks experiencing high levels of outdoor air pollution to improve their indoor air quality, reduce asthma triggers & improve health outcomes.
4.1 Neighborhood-wide mitigation of air pollution (i.e. tree planting, vegetative buffers, anti-idling, etc.)
4.2 Household-specific mitigation of indoor air pollution with a focus on households with vulnerable members experiencing asthma, etc. (health care access, air sealing, insulation, indoor air filters, reducing the use of fossil gas appliances, mitigate indoor air pollution sources such as mold and pests, etc.)
4.3 Integrate healthy homes / indoor air quality intervention with all in-home touch-points (Regulatory Services, energy efficiency, electrification, etc.)
Minneapolis Green Teams Coalition –
At our Minneapolis Green Teams Coalition quarterly gatherings leaders active with 30+ Minneapolis Neighborhood Environment Committees meet on zoom or in person to share their projects and to build power together to advance neighborhood environmental justice priorities with the Mayor and City Council. Join our MPLS Green Teams FACEBOOK GROUP to be informed on our future meetings and to share updates with your peers.
The Minneapolis Green Teams Coalition is co-hosted by Minneapolis Climate Action and Resilient Cities and Communities To get involved please contact:
Sean Gosiewski, E.D. RCC 612-250-0389 sean@rccmn.co or Kyle Samejima E.D., Minneapolis Climate Action kyle@mplsclimate.org
Leaders active with Minneapolis Neighborhood Green Teams regularly meet with and build power with their peers active with suburban communities through our RCC Hennepin County Cluster http://rccmn.co/hennepin-communities/ to collaborate to equitably meet our City and Hennepin County Climate Goals https://www.hennepin.us/climate-action on time