Cleveland released its third Climate Action Plan Tuesday, intended to mitigate climate change effects and help the city reach its emission reduction goals.
The plan outlines strategies, projects and programming to improve air and water quality and ensure climate resilience. The 43 goals outlined in the plan cover six categories relating to clean energy, clean transportation, nature-based solutions, the built environment, climate resiliency and waste reduction.
"We are decades behind, but the tides have been changing," Director of Sustainability & Climate Justice Sarah O’Keeffe said. "We are investing in not only climate action, but all of the connected pieces that build into the climate action plan."
Federal support remains in flux, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said at a panel discussion Tuesday, but the city’s latest plan approaches climate action with a renewed focus on equitable solutions,
"It’s a damn good plan because it's actionable, achievable, with real targets, that's focused on people, with a real lens around equity and inclusion," he said. "And yes, we believe in diversity, equity, inclusion in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio."
The plan will help the city meet it's goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and help protect the city from the three major climate hazards most likely to hit the city, O'Keeffe said.
"Poor air quality, heavy precipitation and flooding, and extreme heat," she said.
"Those most vulnerable to that would be those who have chronic illnesses, the unhoused, seniors, those in low income neighborhoods."
The updated plan prioritizes resilience to climate hazards across the city, with a focus on high-risk residents and at-risk communities.
Bibb discussed additional priorities during the State of the Environment panel discussion, co-hosted by the Ohio Environmental Council and America is All In, including the expanded role of recreation centers in Cleveland neighborhoods.
"We want to make our rec centers places for our seniors and young people to get AC, to play spades, to play pickup basketball in the summertime," he said. "Or when we have a long winter like we had this year, make sure that our rec centers are resilient places for our residents, maybe for our unsheltered brothers and sisters as well."
The city's climate action plan is updated every five years. This version will serve as a guideline through 2029.
