HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 Energy & Environment Commission Report to Council - Climate Action Plan StudyStudy and Report:
Recommendations on Parameters
for a Climate Action Plan
for the City of Edina
September 2019
Compiled by Lauren Satterlee
Vice Chair, Edina Energy & Environment Commission
With input and guidance from City of Edina sustainability manager Tara Brown, Commissioners
Carolyn Jackson, Bayardo Lanzas, and Richard Manser, Great Plains Institute’s Abby Finis, City of
Minneapolis staff Kelly Muellman and Luke Hollenkamp, and Ted Redmond of paleBLUEdot LLC.
Appreciation to EEC Student Commissioner Chloe Maynor for assistance reviewing and
documenting climate action plans adopted by comparable cities.
Introduction 2
What is a Climate Action Plan? 2
Executive Summary 2
1. Why a Climate Action Plan? 3
What’s at Stake: Impacts on Residents, Businesses, Built Infrastructure 3
Warning from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4
Vision Edina 6
Features that Define Edina: ‘Sustainable Environment’ and ‘Future-Oriented’ 6
Strategic Focus Area: Environmental Stewardship 6
2019 Edina Quality of Life Community Survey 6
Edina’s Opportunity: A Call to Action 7
2. Key Components/Approaches 8
Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: Achieving GHG Emission Reductions 9
Specific Goals and Inventories 10
Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Strategies 11
Equity, Inclusion, and Community Input 13
3. Examples from Other Cities 15
4. Measuring Progress 15
Aligning GHG Emissions Goals and Tracking with State, National, or Global Goals 15
Other Indicators of Success 16
Advice and Lessons Learned from Other Cities 18
5. Considerations 19
Recommendations & Prioritization 19
Materiality Matrix for Prioritization 19
Taskforce Operations 20
Initiating Groundwork Immediately 21
Timeline 21
References/Notes 23
Appendices 24
Appendix A: Leadership from the State, County, and Other Cities 24
Appendix B: City Leadership Across the U.S. - Comparing Climate Action Plan Focus Areas 27
Populations -- Edina and comparable cities: 28
Appendix C: Edina’s Current GHG Reduction Goals, Programs & Initiatives 35
Appendix D: List of Related Reports and Resources 40
Introduction
What is a Climate Action Plan?
“Climate action plans are comprehensive roadmaps that outline the specific activities that an agency will
undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate action plans build upon the information
gathered by greenhouse gas inventories and generally focus on those activities that can achieve the
relatively greatest emission reductions in the most cost effective manner.”1
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions - an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
working to forge practical solutions to climate change - adds, “The individual characteristics of each
state’s economy, resource base, and political structure provide different opportunities for dealing with
climate change. However, without targets for emissions reductions, incentives for cleaner technologies,
or other clear policies, climate action plans will not achieve real reductions in GHG emissions.”2
Executive Summary
The World Economic Forum says climate change is the number one threat to the global economy.3 The
number of climate-related extreme weather events has been going up worldwide, according to the
insurance industry. In 2016 alone these disasters caused losses totaling over USD $175 billion
worldwide.4
A 2017 report by the State of Minnesota’s Interagency Climate Adaptation Team reported that, “Climate
change is already occurring in Minnesota and its impacts are affecting our state’s environment,
economy, and communities. Minnesota state government is concerned about the impacts of a changing
climate on our natural resources, economy, health, and quality of life, and is taking action to address
these emerging challenges.”5 A Minnesota Environmental Quality Board report details how climate
change is impacting various aspects of work, life, and play for Minnesotans because of increasing
temperatures, extreme weather, and dew points. [Source, 2014] Section 1 of this report includes
information about the impacts of climate change in Minnesota, including Edina, details on the warnings
from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and how a climate action
plan would align with Edina’s Comprehensive Plan, Vision Edina, and Edina residents’ priorities from the
2019 Edina Quality of Life Survey. The World Economic Forum says climate change is the number one
threat to the global economy. The 2018 IPCC report warned that in order to limit global warming to
1.5°C as the Paris Climate Accord states, we have a short window to do so. We will need to cut GHG
emissions 45 percent by 2030 (from 2010 levels, as opposed to Edina’s goal to cut emissions 30% by
2025 from 2005 levels), and we must also reach net-zero emissions by 2050. [Source 1, Source 2]
In Section 3 and Section 4 of this report, you can read about leadership of other cities through their
establishment of successful climate action plans, including the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and St.
Louis Park, as well as cities outside of Minnesota that are comparable to Edina in population and climate
zone, such as Iowa City, Sommerville, MA and Fort Collins, CO.
A climate action plan would bring many benefits to the city and serve as a comprehensive umbrella for
current and new sustainability initiatives. Section 2 provides information and recommendations around
mitigating the City’s contribution to climate change and meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals, as well
as planning for adaptation and resilience for city residents, businesses, and infrastructure in the face of
current and future impacts. Section 2 also outlines how embedding equitable and inclusive approaches
into the climate action plan will ensure the plan’s sustainability and help advance the city’s broader
equity goals.
A summary of considerations and recommendations for Edina City Council can be found in Section 5,
including the establishment of a taskforce, ideally in 2020, to develop the Climate Action Plan for the
City of Edina. The taskforce should include City staff, local experts, EEC representatives, and community
representatives from diverse perspectives including within social, economic, sectoral, and geographic
contexts. The EEC recommends the taskforce use materiality matrix assessment to prioritize strategies
to mitigate GHG emissions, incorporate strategies to adapt to current and future environmental changes
due to climate change, and prioritize strategies to foster resilience and inclusion. In developing the
timeline for the Climate Action Plan, the taskforce should consider the IPCC recommendations around
reducing GHG emissions (45 percent by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050) in the context of the City’s
current GHG goals, county and state goals, as well as the resources available to cities from the state and
national level. As the Climate Action Plan is being developed, it is recommended that the City
simultaneously conduct a GHG emissions inventory and a climate risk assessment, so that data will be
ready before the plan is finalized and can be used to inform the plan as well as any needed adjustments
to Edina’s existing greenhouse gas reduction goals.
1. Why a Climate Action Plan?
What’s at Stake: Impacts on Residents, Businesses, Built Infrastructure
A 2017 report by the State of Minnesota’s Interagency Climate Adaptation Team reported that, “Climate
change is already occurring in Minnesota and its impacts are affecting our state’s environment,
economy, and communities. Minnesota state government is concerned about the impacts of a changing
climate on our natural resources, economy, health, and quality of life, and is taking action to address
these emerging challenges.” The report, “Adapting to Climate Change in Minnesota,” stated that “Both
the science summarized in the National Climate Assessment and high-quality climatic data show that in
Minnesota and the Midwest, rising temperatures have been driven by a dramatic warming of winter and
also nights, with both the frequency and the severity of extreme cold conditions declining rapidly.
Annual precipitation increases have been punctuated by more frequent and more intense heavy rainfall
events. The heaviest snowstorms have also become larger, even as winter has warmed.” Edina and
other cities across the Twin Cities metro area have already begun experiencing these impacts. Fewer
extremely cold winter days may mean fewer icy roads and lower heating bills, but rapid melting after
snowfall causing flooding and perhaps lower revenue for businesses facilitating winter sports activities.
Increased heavy rain events will affect public and private property, and increases in the number and
duration of hot days will mean higher air conditioning bills and stress on our electrical infrastructure.
“Current trends and projections show that as the climate continues to change, Minnesotans should
expect more difficult summers, with intense heat waves increasingly common, more prevalent water-
and insect-borne diseases, and a greater number of days with low air quality. Floods and droughts alike
may be more severe as precipitation events become stronger and summertime evaporation increases.
Agriculture and forestry will both face new challenges from changing patterns in weather and ecological
systems. Native species will face new pressures and threats as well.” [Source, 2013] The Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) 2014 Minnesota Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment details
environmental vulnerabilities facing the state, and the Minnesota Department of Health’s 2015
Minnesota Climate and Health Profile outlines climate related impacts on human health in the state.
“These hazards will affect all Minnesotans, but carry unique risks for the most vulnerable populations,
including the elderly, the very young, those with existing health concerns, and lower-income and
historically marginalized communities who may not have good access to key services or resources.”
[Source, 2013]
[Source, 2014]
[Source]
Warning from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
In 2018, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued an urgent special report and
summary for policy makers on the current climate crisis and “the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C
above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of
strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts
to eradicate poverty.” The IPCC reported that “global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and
2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate” and detailed the impacts expected as warming
reaches 1.5°C and potentially rises to 2°C, projecting “robust differences in regional climate
characteristics between present-day and global warming of 1.5°C, and between 1.5°C and 2°C. These
differences include increases in: mean temperature in most land and ocean regions (high confidence),
hot extremes in most inhabited regions (high confidence), heavy precipitation in several regions
(medium confidence), and the probability of drought and precipitation deficits in some regions
(medium confidence). ”
Many global ecological systems will be impacted, and in turn impact humans. “Climate-related risks to
health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected
to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C.” However, limiting warming to
1.5°C would be desirable as it would “reduce risks to marine biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystems,
and their functions and services to humans” and “lower the impacts on terrestrial, freshwater and
coastal ecosystems and to retain more of their services to humans.” In regards to sea level rise alone,
“by 2100, global mean sea level rise is projected to be around 0.1 metre lower with global warming of
1.5°C compared to 2°C (medium confidence). Sea level will continue to rise well beyond 2100 (high
confidence), and the magnitude and rate of this rise depend on future emission pathways.”
However, in regards to the projected outcomes of current mitigation actions, the IPCC concluded that
current national mitigation goals “would not limit global warming to 1.5°C, even if supplemented by
very challenging increases in the scale and ambition of emissions reductions after 2030.” The IPCC
reports that limiting global warming to 1.5°C “would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in
energy, land, urban and infrastructure,... and industrial systems... These systems transitions are
unprecedented in terms of scale,... imply deep emissions reductions in all sectors, a wide portfolio of
mitigation options and a significant upscaling of investments in those options.”
In summary, the report warns that avoiding “reliance on future large-scale deployment of carbon
dioxide removal (CDR) can only be achieved if global CO2 emissions start to decline well before 2030.”
In other words, in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C as the Paris Climate Accord states, we will need
to cut GHG emissions 45 percent by 2030 (from 2010 levels, as opposed to Edina’s goal to cut
emissions 30% by 2025 from 2005 levels), and we must also reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Aiming
to limit global warming to 2°C allows for more time, but also comes with much more devastating climate
change impacts. [Source 1, Source 2]
On a positive note, the IPCC highlights ways in which the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals can
compliment emissions reductions efforts to ensure equitable distribution of benefits of this work.
“Sustainable development supports, and often enables, the fundamental societal and systems
transitions and transformations that help limit global warming to 1.5°C. Such changes facilitate the
pursuit of climate-resilient development pathways that achieve ambitious mitigation and adaptation in
conjunction with poverty eradication and efforts to reduce inequalities.” [Source]
Vision Edina
“The future we face is one filled with greater uncertainty, more rapid pace of change and emerging new
opportunities. Vision Edina allows us to step back and look again at the big picture, and decide how we
continue to evolve to remain a relevant, competitive and progressive city.” [Source]
Vision Edina identified ‘Sustainable Environment’ and ‘Future-Oriented’ as features that define Edina.
One of the eight key strategic focus areas that emerged through the Vision Edina process that would be
supported by a Climate Action Plan is ‘Environmental Stewardship.’
Features that Define Edina: ‘Sustainable Environment’ and ‘Future-Oriented’
Vision Edina identified ‘Sustainable Environment’ and ‘Future-Oriented’ as features that define Edina.
Edina is proud to build its infrastructure using leading principles of environmental sustainability and
Edinana treasure and protect our public spaces and parks. A Climate Action Plan would continue to
ensure we are following leading principles of environmental sustainability and protecting our shared
spaces from the impacts of climate change. Additionally, Edina is proud to continually look forward and
always be working to remain competitive, relevant and innovative and not to be afraid to adapt and
change as the city evolves. This value would be strongly supported by climate action planning, which
would aim to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on the City of Edina.
Strategic Focus Area: Environmental Stewardship
Environmental Stewardship is one of eight strategic focus areas identified in Vision Edina that would be
supported by a Climate Action Plan.
iii. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - “Participants in the Vision Edina process were more
supportive of environmentally responsible policies and practices than any other issue area.
There is a growing awareness of the impact that the built environment has on the natural
environment, and the individual and collective responsibility we all have toward good
environmental stewardship. Community residents and stakeholders believe that Edina can take
an active and ambitious internal and regional leadership role in embedding environmental
stewardship principles through actions such as promoting more comprehensive recycling,
smart building and energy efficiency practices. These themes couple well with the parallel
benefits in smarter urban planning, increased transportation options and application of
technology.”
Please see Appendix C for additional strategic focus areas from Vision Edina that would be supported by
a Climate Action Plan, including Regional Leadership, Residential Development Mix, Commercial
Development Mix, Population Mix, Live & Work, and Transportation Options.
Edina’s Comprehensive Plan(s)
In its 2008 Comprehensive Plan, the City adopted the Minnesota State greenhouse gas reduction goals
(as passed in 2007 by the Minnesota Legislature in the Next Generation Energy Act): 15% by 2015; 30%
by 2025, and 80%% by 2050. Edina’s draft 2018 Comprehensive Plan calls for action by the City to
address climate change, including the creation of a climate action plan.
2019 Edina Quality of Life Community Survey
The Quality of Life Survey issued by the City of Edina in 2019 reflected that 75 percent of residents agree
that the City should invest in programs and create policies to address climate change. 86 percent of
residents also identified adapting to climate change as important, with 63 percent rating it as either
essential or very important. [Source]
[Source]
[Source]
Edina’s Opportunity: A Call to Action
The City of Edina missed our 2015 goal to reduce GHG emissions by 15%, as stated in the 2008 Edina
Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan 10.2.3.), despite making progress on emission reductions. Considering
this urgent report from the IPCC, and considering the state is progressing on its own clean energy goals
(see Appendix A) the City needs to go beyond the low hanging fruit to achieve its GHG emissions
reduction goals.
2. Key Components/Approaches
NASA explains the common two-pronged approach to responding to climate change:
1. “Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere (‘mitigation’);”
2. “Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline (‘adaptation’).” [Source]
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency points out that mitigation and adaptation strategies are often
complementary. “Without serious climate mitigation, humans and natural systems will find it
increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to adapt. More often than one might think, there is an overlap
between climate adaptation and mitigation, meaning that the same action can achieve both goals.
[Figure 11] helps to illustrate that climate adaptation and mitigation can overlap in some cases. The
chart below (see Figure 12) provides several examples of those overlapping climate adaptation
responses that also can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.” The additional graphic from the
Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) outlines further areas of overlap between mitigation and
adaptation strategies.
[Source]
[Source, 2014]
Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: Achieving GHG Emission Reductions
120 cities in the U.S. are adopting 70-100 percent renewable or clean energy standards as part of their
climate change mitigation strategies. As of 2019, this includes 10 cities in Minnesota, whose goals are
displayed in the adjacent table. Four of these Minnesota cities - St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and
Rochester - have commitments for 100 percent renewable or clean energy by 2030. [Source]
(Source, IonE 2019)
It is recommended that a climate action plan for Edina focus primarily on mitigation strategies, which
will be the actions taken to allow the city to achieve its own goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in
the city by 30% by 2025 and 80% by 2050. It may even be considered that these goals be revised and
increased in order to meet the urgency of the climate crisis reported by the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and reflecting the leadership of the Governor’s office
in introducing the One Minnesota Path to Clean Energy, a set of policies for Minnesota to source 100
percent of its electric energy from clean sources. [Source] Edina may even have the opportunity to
exceed the goals of neighboring cities and continue to be a leader regionally, inspiring a healthy
competition on this front!
Specific Goals and Inventories
Since the applications of climate change mitigation strategies will be very diverse – from transportation,
to waste, to industrial, commercial, and residential energy use – it will be important to lay out specific
goals in each of these areas to serve as a clear pathway for city staff directing, measuring, and tracking
overall progress on the CAP.
As a useful tool the City in categorizing emission mitigation strategies, “The GHG Protocol Corporate
Standard classifies a company’s GHG emissions into three ‘scopes’:
• Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.
• Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.
• Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value
chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.” [Source]
Past City of Edina efforts have focused mostly on Scope 1 emissions, but Scope 2 emissions will likely be
the area in which the City has the largest opportunity for emissions reductions. The size of opportunity
for emissions reductions should be considered carefully when prioritizing strategies in order to meet the
GHG reduction goals.
In order to facilitate measuring and tracking of overall progress on CAP goals for all emissions scopes, it
is essential to establish a system to quantify and inventory emissions and ensure that the inventory is
taken and tracked at regular increments. Before Iowa City adopted their CAP, they conducted a full
emissions inventory and climate risk assessment. [Source] More on this topic can be found in the section
of this report on Measuring Progress.
Providing a Toolkit for businesses, residents, schools, and community-based organizations with tangible
action steps will be important in setting expectations for community members within the CAP. More on
this topic can be found in the subsection of this report on Equity, Inclusion, and Community
Engagement.
Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Strategies
While it is recommended that the City of Edina focus its CAP on climate mitigation strategies, it must
also plan and adapt to the environmental changes that are occurring and will occur as a result of climate
change. Additionally, the City must continue to value for aspects of our environment that fall outside of
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals or energy reduction goals.
Adaptation strategies must address an increased risk of flooding. The City of Edina engineering
department and water resources team published the 2018 Comprehensive Water Resources
Management Plan and developed an interactive water resources map that includes local 1 percent
annual chance flood inundation mapping. This is an example of how the city is responding and adapting
to increasingly frequent flooding events caused by climate change. The following is an excerpt about the
Flood Risk Reduction Strategy, which will be developed as part of the overall plan:
“As part of this 10-year plan, the City of Edina will develop a Flood Risk Reduction Strategy that
outlines a plan for working toward reducing flood risk.... The strategy will include preparation of
planning-level cost estimates to help understand the potential financial investment required to
meet the City’s flood protection goals and the anticipated timeframe for implementation.
“The Flood Risk Reduction Strategy will focus on identification and prioritization of flood
reduction efforts. The City will seek to maximize cost effectiveness and capitalize on coinciding
opportunities, such as planned street reconstruction, redevelopment, availability of land, and
other planned infrastructure improvement projects. Consideration will also be given to
achieving additional ‘co-benefits’, such as water quality improvements, open space expansion,
and wildlife habitat improvement.
When completed, the Flood Risk Reduction Strategy will be included as an amendment to this
CWRMP.
The City recognizes that addressing regional and local flood issues throughout the community
will require multiple strategies and many actions implemented over a generational time frame.
The City will employ the strategies and associated actions summarized in the adjacent table for
addressing flood issues.” [Source]
[Source]
Climate resilient strategies will only work with community support; therefore they will include a focus
on leveraging the knowledge of the community and fostering their buy-in and collaboration towards
reaching the CAP goals, and equitable distribution of the benefits of the CAP implementation work.
More on this topic can be found in the following section on Equity, Inclusion, and Community Input.
Part of securing community support includes consideration of other values of our environment. While
Edina’s CAP must include strategies to mitigate GHG emissions and adapt to current and future
environmental changes due to climate change, the community has a broader view of what it means to
protect the environment. These values include maintaining water quality and tree cover, and equitable
access to green space and resources such as parks, and encouraging robust community input on
development projects.
As the taskforce develops the CAP and plans for how the city will function in the future, they should
consider and integrate best practices for mitigation and adaptation, how the community currently
functions, and frameworks of values such as Vision Edina.
Equity, Inclusion, and Community Input
Community development initiatives are most sustainable when they involve the community members in
the planning and implementation process and, consider social factors and impacts in addition to
economic and environmental factors and impacts. This way, the plan and initiatives account for and
leverage the knowledge within the community and the community members feel a sense of ownership
in the plan’s success. Involving a diverse range of representatives from the community also increases the
likelihood that the benefits of the plan’s outcomes will be equitably distributed throughout the
community and reduce the risk of causing unintended harm.
Public forums or hearings and community surveys (such as the Edina Quality of Life Survey) are two
methods that can be employed at regular intervals to invite community input throughout the climate
action planning process.
Additional methods can be employed to ensure that community members that are most impacted by
the effects of climate change have avenues for input as well. The MPCA notes that because of social and
economic inequities, individuals and “communities of color, indigenous communities, and lower-income
communities tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution” and other environmental risk
factors that are aggravated by climate change. [Source] In a planning or community development
process, “meaningfully involving individuals most impacted by structural racial inequity in the creation
and implementation of the institutional policies and practices that impact their lives” is also known as
employing a Race and Equity Lens. [Source] Cities like Fort Collins, Colorado place the value for the
‘triple bottom line’ - social, economic, and environmental considerations - as the foundation of their
strategic planning processes. [Source]
[Graphic Source]
By incorporating inclusive and equitable approaches, the CAP also has the opportunity to help meet
some of the recommendations in Edina’s Race & Equity Task Force (RETF) 2018 report. [Source] The CAP
taskforce should report their approaches as part of the RETF annual reports and how they support
progress toward established racial equity and CAP goals and the city’s community engagement plan.
Once the CAP is being implemented, City staff can assume the responsibility to report outcomes of the
CAP in the annual RETF reports.
One way the CAP can also meet RETF recommendations is to write the CAP in plain language following
federal plain language guidelines [Source]. Using plain language and incorporating input and voices from
a diverse range of community members would help meet the recommendations of the RETF around
records management and inclusive communications and technology services.
The CAP taskforce may also want to include training for implicit bias on their agenda and within the CAP
structure itself to help fulfill the RETF training recommendations.
As an example, the City of Minneapolis’ climate action plan development process was centered around a
taskforce or steering committee whose members included technical experts, community
representatives, City and other government agency representatives, environmental commission
members, as well as two members of four appointed working groups. Three technical working groups
focused on key emissions areas (buildings & energy, transportation & land use, and waste & recycling)
and the equity group focused on ensuring that the “strategies developed in the planning process did not
exacerbate existing inequities or environmental and health burdens faced by Minneapolis
communities.” [Source, 2013] Although not formed from the outset, Minneapolis city staff recommend
that other cities establish equity working groups from the outset of the planning process to ensure this
method and perspective is embedding into the CAP. [Source: Interview with City of Minneapolis, June
2019] Equitably represented task forces or working groups, town halls, and surveys are all established
ways to invite community input into the planning process. As mentioned, community input will
strengthen the sustainability of the CAP and its implementation initiatives.
Sustainability must include equitable lenses for environmental and economic development initiatives,
increasing equitable access to resources in the city, including energy efficient affordable housing options
within new housing developments in the city, to allow for development without displacement. For
example, exploring other community’s successes around cooperative housing and co-ownership could
be a valuable model for increasing green affordable housing opportunities in Edina.
In addition to ensuring inclusive input in the planning process, the City of Minneapolis recommends
laying out expectations of individual citizens or households and their role in helping reach the CAP goals,
and building that into the community outreach strategy. Providing a Toolkit for businesses, residents,
schools, and community-based organizations with a pathway of tangible action steps and resources will
help these entities engage and contribute towards city-wide goals. For this purpose, Iowa City released a
Toolkit with their CAP and invites community members to take the Iowa City Climate Action pledge.
[Source]
In the Measuring Impact section of this report, there are some recommendations around creating
indicators that accurately measure equity in line with the other indicators of the CAP. The CAP taskforce
should build in methods for community input and related indicators within the planning process as well
as the incremental scheduled times for the CAP’s reassessment. Building this into the CAP from the
beginning will prioritize neighborhoods that need interventions the most and where resources should
flow when they are available.
There are funding resources and other resources available for incorporating an equity lens and inclusion
strategy into planning processes such as Edina’s CAP. For example, the Minneapolis Climate Action &
Racial Equity Fund offers “grants for place-based, community-driven initiatives and projects that result
in a demonstrable reduction in local greenhouse gas emissions, align with the goals of the Minneapolis
Climate Action Plan, and further the goals of the Minneapolis Strategic Racial Equity Plan. This fund is a
partnership between the City of Minneapolis, The Minneapolis Foundation, and the McKnight
Foundation.” [Source] Health care companies also have a history of funding green space projects in
municipal areas because they view them as community health projects, one example benign the Green
Fourth Street project by the Towerside Innovation District by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The CREATE
Initiative at the University of Minnesota is also developing a toolkit expected to launch in January 2020
to help communities build tools to prevent “green gentrification” and displacement.
3. Examples from Other Cities
Cities in Minnesota have established Climate Action Plans (including the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul,
and St. Louis Park), and more are currently drafting plans (including the City of Eden Prairie). For
example, the City of Minneapolis has committed to 100 percent renewable electricity within city
facilities and infrastructure by 2022 and citywide by 2030. Cities nationally that are comparable to Edina
in characteristics such as population size and weather/climate have also established CAPs. Additionally,
as of April 2019, more than 100 cities across the U.S. have committed to transition 100 percent
renewable energy, and most of them plan to meet that goal by 2035. [Source] Other leading cities with
Climate Action Plans that are comparable to Edina in population and climate zone include Iowa City, IA,
Sommerville, MA and Fort Collins, CO.
Appendix B contains a comparison of elements included in established CAPs in comparable cities, as well
as indicators or measurement tools used by various cities to measure their success in meeting the CAP
goals. Also included in Appendix C are notes on Edina’s progress on current related initiatives, and
Edina’s opportunity for future initiatives under the umbrella of a CAP.
The subsection of this report on Advice and Lessons Learned from Other Cities (within the Measuring
Progress section) provides more insights from neighboring cities on their CAP and implementation
processes from which Edina can learn.
4. Measuring Progress
As mentioned previously, the CAP must include a system to emissions and a schedule to track progress
on GHG emission reduction goals at regular increments. Iowa City conducted a full emissions inventory
and climate risk assessment before adopting their CAP against which to measure the progress on their
CAP goals. [Source] There are various tools available to the taskforce and staff, such as the calculation
tools and guide provided by the GHG Protocol. [Source]
The CAP goals and system of measuring progress towards those goals can be aligned to a variety of
state, national, and global goals and methodologies. The selected system of measurement must also
include indicators beyond pure emissions sources and include indicators of community health and
equitable distribution of benefits of these emissions reductions in order to align with Edina’s values.
Aligning GHG Emissions Goals and Tracking with State, National, or Global Goals
The CAP taskforce will need to decide on the system of tracking and goals upon which the CAP will
measure success and progress. This could be based upon Minnesota state goals (as laid out in
Minnesota’s 2007 Next Generation Energy Act to reduce GHG emissions by 30% by 2025 and 80$ by
2050), or goals of international systems such as Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) or the Paris
Climate Accord. However, as mentioned in Section 1, the 2018 IPCC report warned that we need to
strengthen the Paris targets and make significant change by 2030 if we want to avoid the worst impacts
of climate change.
Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is a global network of more than 1,750 local and regional
governments committed to sustainable urban development and is anouther potential model with which
to align. Their “activities, guided by five interconnected pathways, are designed to facilitate integrated
sustainable urban development.” These five pathways include the “Low emission development pathway;
Nature-based development pathway; Circular development pathway; Resilient development pathway;
and Equitable and people-centered development pathway.” [Source]
Other Indicators of Success
Other indicators for success outside of the key emissions-reductions focus areas of the CAP should be
established to help mirror Vision Edina’s wider environmental stewardship and quality of life priorities.
In addition to equity considerations, perhaps the plan can set forth specific indicators to measure
success based on Vision Edina strategies, community input and participation, and collaborative
initiatives with neighboring cities to help bolster mutual success. These indicators should be established
in line with the key focus areas aimed at reducing GHG emissions, and regular measuring and tracking
systems set in place.
It is recommended that measurement and tracking systems be established from the start to match
division areas the City already uses, which in Edina’s case would be neighborhoods. This way, as
measurements are made and funds are budgeted, decisions can be made about which neighborhoods
should receive priority action during the implementation and reassessment phases.
Systems like the STAR Community Rating System (Sustainability Tools for Assessing and Rating
Communities) provide a framework and certification program for evaluating local sustainability
encompassing social, economic, and environmental performance measures. (See adjacent STAR
framework chart.) Cities like San Diego, Fort Collins, and Iowa City produce annual reports reflecting
progress on key indicators within their CAPs. (See adjacent image of San Diego’s annual report.)
Valuable tools and resources in establishing indicators for Edina’s CAP and conducting an initial
emissions inventory could include:
• The Regional Indicators Initiative and their wedge diagram tool (see sample adjacent figure) and
other resources from the Minnesota’s Local Government Project for Energy Planning (LoGoPEP)
• Metro Climate Stats by the Metropolitan Council
• The Climate Adaptation Framework Menu of Community Resilience Strategies
• The EPA’s Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X) which walks through the MN
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment process and provides applicable tools.
[Source]
Advice and Lessons Learned from Other Cities
The City of Minneapolis adopted their CAP in June 2013. Reflecting on their work to implement the plan
in the initial few years, city staff recommended setting specific and aggressive goals within the CAP
(perhaps sparking a friendly competition with neighboring cities) including considering including a 100
percent renewable electricity goal from the outset, and stating clearly why the aggressive goals are
needed in meeting the GHG reduction and CAP goals. They also recommended ensuring that one staff
person is in charge of tracking the high-level progress on the CAP cumulatively and against the CAP
goals, and reporting this progress regularly to City Council. They also advised stipulating within the CAP
to keep reporting methods consistent across changes in City leadership, and develop expectations or a
pledge for individual citizens/households in contributing their part to achieving the city’s CAP goals.
[Source: Interview with City of Minneapolis, June 2019]
5. Considerations
Edina is already working on initiatives that could be built upon in a Climate Action Plan, including:
• An energy benchmarking policy,
• Curbside organics recycling,
• A green building policy, including plans for optimal reuse/recycling of demolition/deconstruction
waste,
• A green business recognition program,
• City vehicle fleet electrification and efficiency goals,
• Integrating bicycle lanes and pedestrian paths into area development planning,
• Floodplains mapping to inform residents and businesses of risk,
• Infrastructure planning around stormwater capture, and
• Support for lower-income residents for ash tree removal and replacement.
A Climate Action Plan will connect these and future initiatives that can be measured according to our
environmental goals and values.
Recommendations & Prioritization
The Edina Energy and Environment Commission recommends establishing a taskforce, in early 2020, to
develop a Climate Action Plan. The taskforce should be composed of City staff, community members
who have a baseline knowledge of energy and the environment (including Edina residents and
representatives from Edina businesses and community organizations), representatives from the
EEC, representatives from some of our neighboring cities that have established CAPs, representatives
from equity and technical working groups, and local consultants who have assisted other local cities in
developing CAPs.
The taskforce structure could be modeled after the City of Minneapolis’ climate action plan
development process, whose taskforce included two members of four technical and equity-focused
working groups including representatives from the community businesses, residents, and community
organizations. The taskforce may also reach out to a specific community member or group invite to join
them if they see a gap in knowledge on the taskforce that would not necessarily require a working
group. [Source, 2013]
Materiality Matrix for Prioritization
The taskforce should prioritize Climate Action Plan initiatives based on a materiality matrix considering
the following:
• Vision-based planning: Vision Edina, the 2018 Edina Comprehensive Plan, and the 2018 IPCC
Report.
• Mitigation, Adaptation, Resilience, Equity, and Inclusion:
o Prioritize strategies to mitigate GHG emissions and incorporate additional strategies to
adapt to current and future environmental changes due to climate change.
o Prioritize strategies to foster resilience by holding high other values not directly tied to
emissions reduction with focuses on: leveraging knowledge within the community,
laying a foundation in the ‘triple bottom line,’ establishing shared expectations of
community members to help achieve CAP goals, and ensuring equitable distribution of
the benefits of the CAP implementation work.
• Hazard and disaster prevention: Observed impacts of climate change driven extreme weather
on City infrastructure.
• Effectiveness versus ease of implementation: Prioritize strategies that offer the largest
emissions reduction opportunities for all types and scopes of emissions over strategies that are
easiest to achieve.
• Stakeholder input:
o Results from the 2019 Quality of Life Survey indicating from 75 percent of residents
agree that the City should invest in programs and create policies to address climate
change.
o Leadership of private businesses within Edina, highlighted by Edina’s green business
recognition program.
o Consider providing a Toolkit for businesses, residents, schools, and community-based
organizations with a pathway of tangible action steps and resources will help these
entities engage and contribute towards the city wide CAP goals. Iowa City released a
Toolkit with their CAP and invites community members to take the Iowa City Climate
Action pledge.
o Input from diverse community representatives serving on taskforce and reporting from
a broader equity working group and other community input methods during the
planning process, as well as via set methods and indicators to gather community input
at the incremental scheduled times for the CAP’s reassessment.
o Utilizing public hearings and other public inputs to inform the decision-making process.
• Measurement & Reporting: The CAP should require outcomes that are tracked and reported to
Council annually in a cumulative/trend-based reporting style. The CAP should be reassessed at a
regular increment to balance need and capacity, perhaps every five years. At the time of
reassessment, the CAP can be adjusted to reflect new climate science or policies, and new
priorities and actions can be added.
• Starting now: As the CAP is being developed, other groundwork can be laid, such as conducting
a GHG emissions inventory and climate risk assessment.
• Reassessing the City’s Current GHG Goals: Based on the outcome of the GHG emissions
inventory, climate risk assessment, recommendations from bodies such as the IPCC, and analysis
by the tools such as MN LogoPEP, and prior to finalizing the CAP, the taskforce should consider
the need for adjusting the City’s current GHG goals.
Taskforce Operations
Here are recommendations for the operations of the taskforce and related representatives and
resources.
• Convener/Facilitator: We recommend hiring a convener for the taskforce to moderate the
metings and public hearings, take minutes and write the draft Climate Action Plan.
• Expert Assessment and Taskforce:
o The Measuring Impact section of this report lists several resources.
o Non-resident experts should be qualified to provide practical tools for achieving the
goals of the CAP that fit Edina’s unique assets and opportunities.
o Potential local consultants canassist with parts of the planning process could include the
Great Plains Institute and PaleBlueDot, LLC, as well as other resources previously utilized
like the Regional Indicators. MnTAP offers Minnesota businesses workshops and other
resources on greening your business.
o Other cities who have adopted Climate Action Plans can be utilized as a resource. City of
Minneapolis staff were already interviewed for this report, but it is recommended that
the taskforce interview staff from out of state cities such as Sommerville, MA and Fort
Collins, CO that are comparable to Edina. Interview questions could include 1) their
strategy/focus areas in a) mitigation and b) adaptation; 2) progress measurement
methods and which indicators are used on what timeline; 3) community engagement
methods for input; 4) their expected vs observed costs; 5) funding sources; 6) successes
and general lessons learned.
o Additional recommended representatives include:
City staff
Representatives from the EEC
Members of the broader Edina community from both residents and businesses
with a baseline understanding of energy, environment or equity considerations.
Working group representatives: The taskforce structure could be modeled after
the City of Minneapolis’ climate action plan development process, whose
taskforce included two members of four technical and equity-focused working
groups including representatives from the community businesses, residents, and
community organizations.
Initiating Groundwork Immediately
Simultaneously with forming the taskforce, the City can identify and initiate other groundwork, such as a
GHG emissions inventory and a climate risk assessment, which will inform the content and the strategy
of the CAP.
Timeline
The taskforce should develop a timeline for specific actions based on the outcomes of the materiality
matrix assessment and related priority actions. The timeline should show when each priority action
should start and how long it is estimated to take. In developing the timeline for the Climate Action Plan,
the taskforce should consider the IPCC recommendations around reducing GHG emissions (45 percent
by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050) in the context of the City’s current GHG goals, county and state
goals, as well as the resources available to cities from the state and national level.
As mentioned in the Recommendations section, outcomes should be tracked and reported to Council
annually in a cumulative/trend-based reporting style, and planning should be reassessed at a regular
increment balancing need and capacity, perhaps every five years. At the time of reassessment, planning
can be adjusted to reflect new climate science or policies, and a new set of priority actions can be
selected.
The adjacent figure shows an example priority action timeline used by Sommerville, MA, where each
timeline bar represents an initiative under the focus area listed on the left side of the chart.
[Source]
References/Notes
1 Institute for Local Government. (2015). Climate Action Plans. http://www.ca-ilg.org/climate-action-
plans
2 The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. (2019, April). U.S. State Climate Action Plans.
https://www.c2es.org/document/climate-action-plans/
3Larry Elliot, Larry. (2016, January 14). “Climate change disaster is biggest threat to global economy in
2016, say experts,” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/14/climate-
change-disaster-is-biggest-threat-to-global-economy-in-2016-say-experts
4Insurance Information Institute, “Catastrophes: Global,” last accessed October, 2017.
http://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/catastrophes-global
5 City of Minneapolis. (2016, November). Minneapolis Climate Action Plan.
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/sustainability/climate-action-goals/climate-action-plan
6 Minnesota Environmental Quality Board. (2014). Minnesota and Climate Change: Our Tomorrow Starts
Today.
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/EQB%20Climate%20Change%20Communic
ations.pdf
7
Appendices
Appendix A: Leadership from the State, County, and Other Cities
Minnesota State Energy, GHG Reduction, and Utility Goals
“Minnesota is committed by statute to do its part for the climate by meeting its Next Generation Energy
Act [NGEA] goals. This 2007 law sets a goal for the state to cut its annual emissions of greenhouse gases
by 80% between 2005 and 2050. While much progress has been made, the 2050 goal will require
policies well beyond what is already in place at the federal or state level.” [Source]
[Image Source]
Between 2005 and 2016, emissions in some sectors fell (electricity generation, transportation, and
agriculture/forestry, and waste), but emissions from other sectors grew (industrial, residential, and
commercial). [Source]
Imaage: Changes in emissions in Minnesota by sector 2005-2016 [Image Source]
To address the need for policy to achieve our state’s GHG goals and build upon the success of NGEA, on
March 4, 2019, Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced
the One Minnesota Path to Clean Energy, which is a set of policy proposals for Minnesota to reach 100
percent clean electricity generation sector by 2050. “Climate change is an existential threat,” Governor
Tim Walz said. “We must take immediate action… These proposals would put us at the forefront of
addressing climate change. Minnesota will pioneer the green energy economy—creating jobs while
protecting our planet for generations to come.” [Source]
The new policies target the energy generation sector in three ways:
1. 100 Percent Clean Energy by 2050. This standard would require all electric utilities in Minnesota
to use only carbon-free energy resources by 2050, while allowing each utility the flexibility to
choose how and at what pace they meet the standard. The proposal includes provisions to assist
workers and communities affected by the transition, while prioritizing local jobs and prevailing
wages for large new clean energy projects.
2. Clean Energy First. This regulatory policy would require that, whenever a utility proposes to
replace or add new power generation, it must prioritize energy efficiency and clean energy
resources over fossil fuels. This policy would strengthen an existing renewable energy
preference in Minnesota law, and it would allow for fossil fuel-based power only if needed to
ensure reliable, affordable electricity.
3. Energy Optimization. This proposal would raise Minnesota’s Energy Efficiency Resource
Standard for investor-owned electric utilities and expand the Conservation Improvement
Program that helps Minnesota households and businesses save on their utility bills by using
energy more efficiently. It would also encourage utilities to develop innovative new programs to
help consumers and businesses switch to more efficient, cleaner energy. In addition, it would
target more energy-saving assistance for low-income households. [Source]
These statewide policies follow Xcel Energy’s announcement in December 2018 of their public
commitment “to generate 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy by 2050. Two states –
California and Hawaii – have adopted mandates for 100 percent clean energy.”[Source] Ben Fowke, Xcel
Energy’s Chairman, President and CEO stated, “Xcel Energy is committed to serving customers, and that
includes responding to the concerns of many customers around the risk of climate change. National and
international studies paint a sobering picture about this risk and call for nothing less than a
transformation of our industry to help address it. While that transformation will be challenging, we see
an opportunity for our company and those we serve to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions
reliably, safely and at a low cost.” [Source]
In addition to utilities, Minnesota’s private sector is taking a lead. “More than 100 major global
companies have also pledged to meet their energy needs with 100 percent clean energy by 2050 or
sooner, with Minnesota’s own 3M being the latest to make this commitment.” [Source]
Additionally, many major Minnesota businesses, including General Mills, Best Buy, Aveda, Cargill,
Tennant Company, Target, Uponor, Clif Bar, and Ben & Jerry’s have expressed their support for a
transition to a low carbon economy, including reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions because
they understand the importance of climate change to their profitability and supply chains. [Source]
In the transportation sector, in 2018, Metro Transit cancelled an order for diesel buses and announced a
goal to transition to 100 percent electric vehicle bus fleet by 2040. [Source] As of April 2019, there are
bills in play in Minnesota’s legislature proposing support for this, and other support for other parts
of emerging electric vehicle (EV) industry such as rebates for new and used EV car purchases and
investments in charging stations. [Source] Minneapolis and Saint Paul are on track to join the list of cities
across the world with zero-emission bus fleets. [Source]
The Metropolitan Council’s Local Planning Handbook has a large collection of resources for cities to
incorporate resilience into their comprehensive plans and other planning processes. [Source]
Hennepin County Solid Waste Requirements
“The Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Master Plan for 2018 - 2023 identifies strategies the
county will pursue to reach the goals of recycling 75 percent of waste and sending zero waste to landfills
by 2030. State statute requires metro counties to prepare master plans every six years that identify
strategies to meet the recycling goals and objectives in the state’s Metropolitan Area Solid Waste
Management Policy Plan.
The plan was adopted by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on November 28, 2017. See the
Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Master Plan for 2018 - 2023 (PDF) to learn about the
proposed strategies and next steps.” [Source]
Appendix B: City Leadership Across the U.S. - Comparing Climate Action Plan Focus Areas
Collected by City staff on other cities in 2017:
Populations -- Edina and comparable cities:
Edina - 51,958
Eden Prairie, MN - 64,400, climate inheritance resolution building on their energy action plan + net-zero
GHG by 2040
Iowa City, IA - 75,798
Somerville, MA - 81,360
Minneapolis, MN - 422,331
St. Paul, MN - 306,621
Fort Collins, CO - 165,080
Bellevue, Washington - 144,444
Bethesda, MD - 63,374
Carmel, IN - 92,198
Highland Park, IL - 29,767, 2009 Sustainability Strategic Plan
Lee’s Summit, MO - 97,290
Littleton, CO - 47,734
Manhattan Beach, CA - 35,924
Newton, MA - 88,994
Menlo Park, CA - 34,357
Shaker Heights, OH - 27,440
University Park, TX - 25,201
The following table provides a snapshot of cities comparable to Edina that have already established
Climate Action Plans – including Minneapolis, St. Paul, and St. Louis Park as well as other cities outside of
Minnesota – and an overview of the features of those plans.
Overview of other climate action plan components (details in table below):
a. Energy
i. Greening the Energy Supply (including renewables)
ii. Codes, Finance, & Incentive Programs
iii. Rental and Time-of-Sale Building Energy Use Disclosure
1. Green Jobs
b. Transportation
i. Related Street & Land Use Planning
c. Waste & Carbon Sequestration
d. Water
i. Water Management & Quality Control
e. Community Input / Outreach
f. City Leadership
g. Equity
Key:
MS = Minneapolis, MN
SP = St. Paul, MN (more info; background)
SLP = St. Louis Park, MN (more info)
FC = Fort Collins, CO
SM = Sommerville, MA
IA = Iowa City, IA (more info including on community input methods)
Focus Area Elements Included in Specific
City CAPs Indicators/
Measuring
Success
Funding
Sources Edina’s
Progress/
Initiatives
Edina’s
Opportunity
Energy
Greening
the Energy
Supply
(including
renewable
s)
IA- Initiate an education
campaign surrounding
decarbonization; study city
properties for electrification
opportunities; expand this
study to residences; initiate
community solar projects.
MS- Green Zone Initiatives for
areas facing multiple
vulnerabilities; Public-private
efficiency campaign; City
facilities and infrastructure
lead efficiency model; Help
75% of homeowners, renters,
and rental property owners
participate in efficiency retrofit
programs.
SP- Adopt stricter building
energy codes for new
development; Deep energy
retrofits program for 1-4 unit
households, high and low
income; Provide education
about electrification of gas
appliances; Host a city wide
solar resource map on city
website; Provide solar
education for builders
SM- Explore net-zero energy or
net-zero emissions-based
performance standards
FC- Build in efficiency from
start; Make existing homes
more efficient; Shift heating
loads to biofuel, geothermal,
and electrification
SLP: Encourage residents and
businesses to switch to
renewable sources; Add solar
to public buildings
MS- 5% efficiency
in residential
buildings and 20%
efficiency in
commercial/indus
trial buildings
from growth
baseline; Increase
electricity from
renewables to
10% of the total;
1.5% annual
reduction in GHG
from City facilities.
SLP- Large
commercial
building energy
efficiency team
measures
progress toward
established goals.
SP- Reach 5%
annual
participation in
energy
conservation by
2040; 100% Large,
multifamily, and
municipal building
participation in
building
benchmarking
(50k sq ft) by
2030; 150 MW
commercial solar
rooftop capacity
by 2040; 100%
Green new
development of
large or
SLP -
Consultant
from Great
Plains
Institute,
fee paid by
City
SP- Grant
money from
winning the
Bloomberg
Philanthropi
es American
Cities
Climate
Challenge.
Installed one
community
solar garden;
Encourages
individual
solar PV;
Established
PACE
program;
Incentivize
individual solar
PV; Develop
carbon offsets;
Establish
Renewable
Energy
Taskforce
multifamily
buildings by 2040.
Codes,
Finance, &
Incentive
Programs
MS- Support the adoption of
the latest IECC and IGCC and
adopt the latter locally;
Develop tools to finance
retrofits to commercial and
residential buildings that have
low barriers to entry and limit
risk; Incentivize energy & water
efficiency in private buildings
at all touchpoints with the City
including restructuring permit
and other fee schedules and
incentivizing high energy
performance; City-financed
projects meet an efficiency
standard; Explore conservation
based pricing and renewables
when updating franchise
agreements with utilities; Time
of sale and rental labl
disclosure.
IA- Implement a green
business recognition program
SP- Offer a one-year
production incentive for
residential and multifamily
solar installation; explore an
energy benchmark
requirement for commercial
and multifamily buildings;
implement an energy challenge
program for partners; provide
lower cost EV charging at city
owned parking lots.
Green
Business
Recognition
Program
established
by EEC in
2018/2019;
Energy
Benchmarkin
g Ordinance
of 2019
CAP taskforce
can advise
Rental and
Time-of-
Sale
Building
Energy Use
Disclosure
SM- Enable rental energy
disclosure requirement
SLP - Adopt a building energy
disclosure ordinance for all
public and commercial
buildings
greater than 20,000 square
feet;
SP- Adopt a point of sale and
point of rent energy disclosure
ordinance.
MS- Create time-of-sale and
time-of-rent energy label
disclosure.
CAP taskforce
can advise
Green
Jobs MS- Expand efforts to promote
green jobs that support GHG
emission
reduction goals.
IA- Expand current rideshare
program
CAP taskforce
can advise
Transportation
EV Ready
and hybrid
vehicles in
City fleet -
SM- Develop electric vehicle
charging infrastructure
strategy; Parking policy to
meet low-carbon mobility
needs.
FC- Accelerate adoption of fuel
efficient and EVs
IA- add two EV charging
stations to visible public
parking facility locations.
SLP- Add EV charging to City
lots
SP- Expand public charging
infrastructure; require new
developments to have wiring
capacity to charge electric
vehicles and reserve a
percentage of new parking
spots for exclusive EV use.
Resource: Drive Electric MN
will soon have more resources
for cities, including a checklist,
sample presentations, etc. See
also Cities Charging Ahead
AU- At Least 95%
of the vehicles
purchased
annually by the
city are
alternative-fuel
capable.
SP- 600 Level 2 EV
chargers by 2040;
reach 80% of on
road vehicles as
EVs by 2040; 100
mobility hubs by
2040.
City has
purchased
EVs and
hybrids.
[Partial
Source]
+Purchasing
policy, comp
planning
CAP taskforce
can advise
Related
Street &
Land Use
Planning
FC- Shift land use patterns to
shorten trips and reduce need
to drive
IA- change land use to more
compact and mixed-use
developments, encourage
compact and contiguous
design, and infill development
across the City
SP-Set parking maximums for
most land-use types and
require developers and
landlords to “unbundle”
parking from rent; Mitigate the
impact of inner-city highways
(via capping, converting into
boulevards, or removal);
SP- Increase
public transit
ridership 25% by
2040; Reduce
Single Occupancy
Vehicle
commuters by
40% of 2015 levels
by 2040.
CAP taskforce
can advise
Increase mixed use
communities; Ensure that
mobility hubs are within a
quarter mile from public
transportation.
Waste & Carbon Sequestration
FC- Road to zero waste/ carbon
sequestration
IA- Expand waste diversion
programs; reduce Waste at city
facilities; develop a waste
management plan; expand tree
canopy; study waste
generation from landfill
SP- Implement a waste
prevention plan; Place a fee on
disposable shopping bags;
Implement a curbside organics
program; Require
reuse/recycling of construction
and demolition materials;
Require "to-go" packaging to
be compostable; Capture and
utilize methane leaking from
Pig's Eye landfill.
SLP- Adopt a waste reduction
plan to achieve a 50%
reduction in garbage by 2050
from BAU; Continue to
improve and enforce the city’s
Zero Waste Packaging
ordinance
Suggested-
Incentives to plant more and
larger tree, management
training (residential and
professionals)
Suggested- Continuous training
and improvement on
appropriate recycling and
organics practices;
Business/commercial recycling
incentives; Single use plastics
ban
SP- Reach 80%
total waste
diverted from
landfill by 2040,
with 10% or waste
composted, 55%
recycled and a 5%
reduction in
annual tons of
waste.
In progress:
Curbside
organics
recycling
program;
Ash tree
replacement
policy
Mandate
business
recycling
including
organics for
food-related
businesses;
Require
recycling/orga
nics at public
events;
Consider
organized solid
waste hauling;
Track trees
felled and
diameter,
growth, and
sequestration
of
replacements
Water
Water
Manageme
nt &
Quality
Control
IA- Study on extracting and
reusing methane from
wastewater
SLP- Include water efficiency
educational materials in
building permit process;
encourage improvements to a
building’s water efficiency
during renovation.
SM - Implement a modern
urban forestry management
plan; Investigate enterprise
fund to improve stormwater
management; Flood resilience
standard for new construction
SP- Distribute water
conservation educational
materials; Support
opportunities for residents to
electrify water heaters;
Identify opportunities for large
business with significant hot
water leads to use solar
thermal technology.
Suggested:
https://ensia.com/features/flo
oding-increase-cities-live-with-
water-green-stormwater-
infrastructure/
SLP - Improve the efficiency of
water delivery, encourage
conservation,
SLP - Tracking
residential,
municipal, and
industrial water
use.
SP- Reduce per
person annual
water
consumption by
2% by 2040, and
annual per job
usage by 5% by
2040.
Edina
Interactive
Water
Resources
Map for
residential
flood risk
and related
guidance;
2018
Comprehensi
ve Water
Resources
Managemen
t Plan
CAP taskforce
can advise
Community Input / Outreach
IA- Public forums and input
meetings held during plan
formation; steering committee
comprising of community
representatives formed to
oversee implementation of
plan; community climate
action grant created,
SM- Consumption based GHG
inventory and community
outreach on impacts of
consumption; Preparedness
education program and
CAP taskforce
can advise
emergency alert system for
flooding and extreme heat;
Organize community
leadership program; Create
regional coalition for
neighboring municipalities
develop strategy to push action
SLP - Youth Lead initiatives to
reduce school emissions, and
business outreach; creation of
the Climate Action Plan
Advisory Committee
SP- Three community
engagement sessions were
held for residents to learn and
provide feedback about the
plan.
City Leadership
SM - Set net-zero building and
renewable electricity standards
for new municipal buildings
and major renovations
SP- Have all municipal buildings
carbon neutral by 2025;
Benchmark municipal energy
and gas; Install LED
streetlights; Deploy renewable
thermal technologies on city
property; Increase municipal
purchasing of renewable
energy; Work with schools to
participate in Xcel's low-
income solar opportunities.
SP- Reach and
maintain a 9%
annual GHG
reduction.
CAP taskforce
can advise
Equity
IA- Conduct a vulnerable
populations asset mapping
exercise; Develop
communications and outreach
plan for vulnerable
populations; Analyze climate-
related public health impacts in
Iowa City
SM- Improve bus reliability and
trip times; Expand bicycle
infrastructure
SP- Target small businesses in
low-income communities with
Established
Fair Housing
Policy in
2018 and
revised
Multi-Family
Housing
Policy in
2019..
CAP taskforce
can advise
energy efficiency
opportunities; Reduce
resident energy burden to 4%
of income per month;
Incorporate accessibility
options for mobility devices in
protected lanes; Ensure
educational information for
small business efficiency
programs are available in
multiple languages
Suggested- Plan for anticipated
growth in population/ density
while considering affordability/
access and existing single
family housing stock.
Appendix C: Edina’s Current GHG Reduction Goals, Programs & Initiatives
The City of Edina participated in a workshop series to identify opportunities to build resilience related to
local climate change, sponsored by the MPCA and Metropolitan Council, among others. The workshop
recommendations for adaptation to climate change for Edina’s Built Infrastructure included:
• Continue plans to increase durability of roadways and reduce road stress
• Continue and increase efforts to repair sanitary sewers
• Plan for and educate about drinking water conservation
• Continue to improve energy and water efficiency and safety a city-owned buildings
[Source: “Making Adaptation Plans for Minnesota’s Changing Climate” Edina Workshop]
The City of Edina has made progress on select areas related to climate change mitigation and adaptation
- which are detailed below - and has committed to the value of Environmental Stewardship in Vision
Edina.
Solid Waste: Edina has a curbside recycling program and is rolling out an organics waste curbside
program in 2020. [Source]
Water: “Edina’s Water Resources Coordinator… supports pollution prevention, the quality of
groundwater, lakes, ponds, creeks, and wetlands as well as reviewing flooding and drainage.” Edina also
encourages businesses to become Smart Salting certified. [Source] The city provides resources to
residents on reducing water use and protecting our water bodies. [Source]
Carbon Sequestration: “The Forestry team… [is] tasked with many duties including replanting trees in
city parks and identifying, marking, and removing disease trees.” [Source] The City received a grant for
assisting low-income households in replacing Ash trees. The EEC is also tasked with a Study and Report
on potential pollinator resolution in 2019.
Energy: Edina worked with Xcel Energy’s Partners in Energy program to create an Electricity Action Plan.
[Source] The Edina Energy and Environment Commission (EEC) hosted a Home Energy Fair in 2018 to
educate residents and provide resources for residential energy saving opportunities. [Source] The City
was awarded by CERTs and the Minnesota Department of Commerce with a Clean Energy Community
Award for successful outreach work to residents. Residents took 1,275 energy-saving actions in 2017;
Windsource had 976 new Edina subscribers in 2017; 224 actions were taken by businesses, saving 10
GWh of electricity; and more than 15 actions were taken by the city to lower the city’s greenhouse gas
emissions by 7.5 percent, including lighting retrofits, recommissioning the Braemar Ice Arena, and
increasing the Conservation and Sustainability Fund from $250,000 to $1 million annually to invest in
future energy efficiency upgrades. [Source]
The EEC is also tasked in 2019 to review and recommend a building energy benchmarking policy. Edina’s
Emerald Energy Program (EEEP) provides business property owners with financing options for
renewable energy or energy efficient building improvements through partnership with the St. Paul Port
Authority (SPPA) Program called Pace of MN. [Source] The city also opened its first Community Solar
Garden in 2018 with 68 households subscribed. [Source] Edina also has a solar panel array on the roof of
City Hall since 2012. [Source]
Transportation: The City also owns [#] hybrids and [#] electric vehicles (EVs), which make up [%] of its
vehicle fleet. [Partial Source]
Community Engagement: The EEC is tasked in 2019 to review and establish an annual Business
Recognition Program Award for leadership in energy and the environment in consultation with members
of the Human Rights Commission.
Vision Edina
“The future we face is one filled with greater uncertainty, more rapid pace of change and emerging new
opportunities. Vision Edina allows us to step back and look again at the big picture, and decide how we
continue to evolve to remain a relevant, competitive and progressive city.” [Source]
As mentioned in the report, Vision Edina identified ‘Sustainable Environment’ and ‘Future-Oriented’ as
features that define Edina. One of the eight key strategic focus areas that emerged through the Vision
Edina process that would be supported by a Climate Action Plan is ‘Environmental Stewardship.’ Below
are some suggested strategic actions related to this strategic focus area:
iii. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - “Participants in the Vision Edina process were more
supportive of environmentally responsible policies and practices than any other issue area.
There is a growing awareness of the impact that the built environment has on the natural
environment, and the individual and collective responsibility we all have toward good
environmental stewardship. Community residents and stakeholders believe that Edina can take
an active and ambitious internal and regional leadership role in embedding environmental
stewardship principles through actions such as promoting more comprehensive recycling,
smart building and energy efficiency practices. These themes couple well with the parallel
benefits in smarter urban planning, increased transportation options and application of
technology.”
Suggested Strategic Actions:
1. “Develop a comprehensive city-wide environmental management plan that
explores and includes best practices in water management, biodiversity, green
space management, streetscape enhancement and waste management.”
o [Note: A Climate Action Plan could supplement Edina’s environmental
management plan, or serve as the plan if there is not one in place
currently.]
2. “Partner with energy and utility service providers to educate residents on the
importance of energy efficiency in their daily living and promote energy
efficiency and smart building practices at all City-owned properties. This could
include well-established practices such as publishing data on the carbon
emission, waste levels and recycling levels.”
o [Note: Publishing Climate Action Plan related data could dovetail with
these suggested education initiatives. ]
3. “Identify a series of environmental flagship pilot projects to bring stakeholders
together and begin exploring creative solutions. Examples could include: waste
collection and management across the city; recycling and green waste
management; environmental overlays on development projects such as
Pentagon Park; and utilization of available areas such as Fred Richards Park as
community gardens and biodiversity spaces.”
o [Note: Climate action plan steps could dovetail with these pilot projects.]
4. “Develop incentives for individual households to take an active role in the
overall city responsibility for environmental management, including reducing
nutrient loads in run-off, local recycling and efficient resource usage.”
o [Note: Climate action planning could help develop ideas for incentives for
individual households to take an active role in the overall city responsibility
for environmental management.]
Additional Related Strategic Focus Areas
Additionally, other strategic focus areas that would be supported by a Climate Action Plan included
Regional Leadership, Residential Development Mix, Commercial Development Mix, Population Mix, Live
& Work, and Transportation Options.
iv. REGIONAL LEADERSHIP – [Note: Climate action planning would help develop suggested
new best practices in environmental sustainability for city leaders and residents to apply, to help
ensure that the City of Edina builds the future intelligence capacity to retain a future-focused
worldview, and act as an example and role model to other cities in North America.]
v. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT MIX - [Note: Climate-forward policies could help attract
younger residents who tend to uphold their value, also supporting the need for additional multi-
family options to create more diversity in housing affordability and attract younger residents.
Climate-forward policies could also help develop frameworks and guidance for new residential
construction, also helping to address increasing concern about the trend and impact of so-called
‘teardowns’ on the community.”]
vi. TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS - [Note: Transportation strategies of climate action
planning could also help respond to the community’s interest in reducing dependency on
automobiles by increasing walking, biking, and transit options that help residents feel connected
to their community, and improve the overall quality of life. Climate action planning could help
attract younger residents, since a diversity of transportation options is also highly preferred
among younger residents.]
vii. COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT MIX and LIVE AND WORK - [Note: Climate action
planning could help increase the diversity of neighborhood node commercial development
locations by appealing to start-up businesses that are likely more forward thinking on climate
issues. More commercial neighborhood nodes can reduce energy use by reducing the length of
travel required by automobile by residents, and mirror the unique and appealing experience of
the 50th & France district at an appropriate scale in other locations across the city.
Although the City of Edina has made great progress on these individual initiatives, the City needs a
comprehensive Climate Action Plan to coalesce these initiatives with the additional initiatives that will
be needed to enable it to achieve its current goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent
by the year 2025 and 80 percent by 2050 and certainly if the City adopts even more ambitious GHG
reduction goals. [Source]
Appendix D: List of Related Reports and Resources
The Metropolitan Council’s Local Planning Handbook has a large collection of resources for cities to
incorporate resilience into their comprehensive plans and other planning processes. [Source]