ICLEI Goes to China With Governor Brown’s Delegation

Blogger: Michael Schmitz, ICLEI USA Executive Director

When I was asked to join California Governor Jerry Brown’s delegation on a historic trade and investment mission to China, I jumped at the chance. ICLEI brings together city leaders from around the world, and this mission offers a remarkable opportunity to strengthen ties between U.S. and Chinese cities, especially since climate policy and energy investment will be major topics of discussion during the trip.

San Francisco Named Earth Hour Capital

In recognition of San Francisco’s comprehensive efforts to promote renewable energy and prepare its residents for extreme weather and other consequences of climate change, an international jury has named the city U.S. Earth Hour Capital for 2013. As part of this honor, the city will receive World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour Climate Leaders Award and $30,000 to support its work engaging San Franciscans around climate impacts on the city’s future.

Crowdsourcing to Tackle Climate Change: Win $10,000 From the MIT Climate CoLab

Can crowdsourcing help the world tackle climate change? The Climate CoLab, a project of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, is based on the idea that it can.

Inspired by systems like Wikipedia and open source software, the Climate CoLab seeks to harness contributions by people from all around the world to develop, and gain support for, fresh new ideas to address climate change.

Activity on the site is organized through online contests on a range of  topics, such as building efficiency, decarbonizing fuel supply, adaptation, and changing cultural attitudes. The deadline for submittals is May 31, and anyone in the world can participate.

Coming to PBS: Cities and Counties Leading on Climate Change

ICLEI USA Executive Director Michael Schmitz with Houston Mayor Annise Parker during the In Focus With Martin Sheen video shoot.

ICLEI has been busy with a new project for public TV stations nationwide. We're proud to serve as the content provider and funder of the upcoming episode of In Focus with Martin Sheen that will highlight the leadership of cities and counties in addressing climate change.

We tapped our network of leading local governments to help create this three-minute interstitial video, which will be broadcast to up to 60 million viewers later this spring. The production features interviews with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (pictured below), Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs, and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal.

Broward County Incorporates Climate Change into Plans, Targets 'Adaptation Action Areas'

Photo credit: Robert DeMeo via Wikimedia Commons

Broward County, FL, is strengthening its commitment to community resilience and climate action, and in the process pioneering innovations in climate adaptation planning. In February 2013, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners adopted a Climate Change Element as part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, and also updated the County's Land Use Plan with a climate amendment.

Mayor Kristin Jacobs noted that “the development of this element has been a two-year effort to address climate mitigation and adaptation in our planning documents. Broward continues to provide leadership in taking steps to recognize the consequences of climate change in our community and to adopt policies to reduce risk and enhance our resilience to sea level rise.”

The Climate Element includes a broad range of policies that will protect residents, businesses, and key infrastructure from extreme weather and rising sea levels, and take smart steps to lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Adaptation Action Areas

One of the most noteworthy is Policy 19.3.13, which states that "Broward County shall by 2017, work with its local municipalities to designate Adaptation Action Areas, per Florida State Law, using a Priority Planning Areas for Sea Level Rise Map (right, click to view larger map) as a basis for identifying areas especially vulnerable to sea level rise, in order to develop policies for adaptation and enhance the funding potential of infrastructure adaptation projects."

Broward is the first local government in Florida to amend its comprehensive plan to provide for the Adaptation Action Areas designation.

A separate policy in the updated Land Use Plan will "evaluate plan amendments within Priority Planning Areas for Sea Level Rise and strongly discourage those amendments which would place additional residential and non-residential development at risk of flooding from sea level rise."

Nominate a Community Resilience Leader as a 'Champion of Change'

Hurry! This Friday, March 8 is the deadline to nominate a friend of colleague to be a "Champion of Change" for their work to create a more resilient community. Here's the announcement from the White House CEQ:

The White House Champions of Change program highlights the stories and examples of citizens across the country who are “Winning the Future” with projects and initiatives that move their communities forward.

This April, the White House Council on Environmental Quality will host a Champions of Change event for citizen, business, and community leaders who are working to prepare their cities and towns for the unavoidable consequences of climate change. We are asking for your help to identify those you consider to be Community Resilience Leaders and “Champions of Change.” These individuals are innovators and creative thinkers working tirelessly to ensure community resilience in the face of costly climate-related impacts. We want to recognize and learn from these leaders and share climate preparedness strategies that will protect generations to come and create a more resilient and prosperous America today, one community at a time.

>> Learn More

New TRIG Handbook: Climate Futures Forums

TRIG's new handbook, Climate Futures Forums: A Model for Engaging Communities in Building Climate Resilience and Reducing Emissions guides practitioners through the Climate Futures Forum (CFF) process to build social resilience and enable communities to prepare for and withstand climate impacts to natural, built, economic, human and cultural systems. The handbook offers “how-to” advice for anyone interested in organizing CFFs in their area to build resilience and reduce emissions.

ICLEI’s Federal Engagement to Champion Local Government Climate Action

ICLEI USA has kicked off 2013 with two busy months, engaging with federal leaders who have reached out to obtain our input on federal approaches to climate action and the role of local governments. ICLEI USA’s Executive Director, Michael Schmitz, has met several times with senior officials in the U.S. Department of State, including Under Secretary of State Robert B. Hormats. Schmitz has also led ICLEI’s response to a request for policy ideas from the Congressional Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change.

ICLEI is proud to act as the champion of cities and counties on climate change. Our mantra continues to be that local governments are leading the way on climate action, and that they must be further empowered to reduce GHG emissions and prepare their communities for climate impacts. In our latest federal engagement we’ve provided specific ideas and recommendations for how that can happen via federal agency action and local-federal collaborations. Read the details below.

What the National Climate Assessment Means for Local Governments

Have you perused the Draft National Climate Assessment (NCA) yet? Consider this 1,000-page report an invaluable resource for your local government -- a gold mine of information and insight. The Assessment can help guide your planning and policy efforts, build the case for action on adaptation and resilience, and even help you create a better sustainability or climate action plan.

View the Draft Assessment

Submit Comments (deadline April 12)

California Governor's Office Recommends Using ICLEI's Community Protocol

ICLEI is thrilled to announce that the State of California's Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) now officially recommends that California local governments follow the Community Protocol when undertaking their greenhouse gas emissions inventories. The U.S. Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions is the first-ever national standard for how to measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions associated with communities.

ICLEI pioneered the development of this groundbreaking guidance, released in October 2012. The Community Protocol establishes requirements and recommended best practices for developing community GHG emissions inventories. A consistent national standard allows local governments to more easily develop high-quality GHG inventories and measure progress toward their emissions reduction goals and communicate results with their community members.

Read OPR's official announcement to local governments: