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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2022-14 Council Climate Action RESOLUTION NO. 2022-14 A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT CALLING FOR STATE AND FEDERAL RESPONSE TO CITIES’ ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE WHEREAS, the community of the City of Edina values children and our legacy for future generations; and WHEREAS, on August 20, 2019 in Resolution No. 2019-63, the City of Edina called for state and federal action to address climate change; and WHEREAS, climate related disasters have only intensified since 2019, including drought across Minnesota in 2021, and drought-related wildfires in Minnesota, Canada and the United States west coast that have destroyed property, killed people and raised the pollutants in our air to dangerous levels; and WHEREAS, Minnesota continues to experience more and more extreme precipitation events, with 2019 being the wettest year on record; and WHEREAS, the City has received urgent calls to action by youth and other residents to address climate change; and WHEREAS, the City passed a climate action plan in 2021 setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45% reduction by 2030, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050; and WHEREAS, Whereas, the City has taken steps to reduce and renew building energy use, advance a healthy urban forest and reduce waste; and WHEREAS, the City established the Conservation and Sustainability Fund to reduce greenhouse gases, and is currently planning to spend over $10 million to begin to manage the flood risk associated with climate change; and WHEREAS, transformational change must occur at all levels of society, including cities of all sizes to address the impending climate crisis; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Edina, Hennepin County, Minnesota: To join with cities across Minnesota to acknowledge the threat to our infrastructure, property and health caused by climate change; To acknowledge our shared opportunity and responsibility to act in response to climate change; To ask the State of Minnesota to coordinate responses to climate change among cities, counties, regional planning organizations, commerce, industry and agriculture to adapt to climate change and partner with cities to identify projects to take advantage of climate action funding opportunities; To give cities the tools necessary to mitigate climate change including legislative advancements and access to technical resources; and To help cities adapt to the warmer, wetter and more severe weather associated with climate change, and advance cross-boundary partnerships to address climate risk at scale; To ask the Federal Government to support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts of cities large and small, to invest in the infrastructure needed for a sustainable future, to ensure that the investment is at the scale needed, and to provide the necessary global leadership to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius/2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. ADOPTED this 19th day of January, 2022 Attest: Sharon Allison, City Clerk James B. Hovland, Mayor STATE OF MINNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) CITY OF EDINA ) CERTIFICATE OF CITY CLERK I, the undersigned duly appointed and acting City Clerk for the City of Edina do hereby certify that the attached and foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Edina City Council at its Regular Meeting of January 19, 2022, and as recorded in the Minutes of said Regular Meeting. WITNESS my hand and seal of said City this 19th day of January, 2022 City Clerk