Sustainability staff outline Green New Deal goals and interactive climate action matrix for council prioritization

Rebecca Evans and sustainability planner Siobhan (Shavon) Hull briefed the council on the city’s Green New Deal and a forthcoming Climate Action Plan, describing goals, funding to date and an interactive implementation matrix.

The Green New Deal resolution includes targets such as "community wide carbon neutrality by 2030," staff said, and sets additional municipal targets — halving vehicle fleet emissions by 2025 and achieving 100% renewable electricity in government operations by 2025. The sustainability team framed the effort as citywide and multi‑partner rather than confined to the sustainability department, and emphasized Justice 50 commitments to direct capital investments toward climate‑justice communities and to fund workforce development.

Staff detailed funding they have attracted: roughly $15 million in outside funds since 2021, with about $200,000 of direct city budget contribution referenced for a capital project. They previewed a Climate Action Plan structured around six focus areas (housing, equity, labor, public health, power, resilience) and an online matrix that lets council members select priorities to generate recommended actions and cost estimates.

Council members praised the matrix formatting and asked for continued coordination with housing and other departments; staff noted some sectors lack research and recommended partnering with academic institutions for deeper analysis. Staff will circulate the plan and the interactive matrix for council review and further prioritization.

Next steps: staff will finalize the Climate Action Plan, publish the interactive tool for policy selection and continue grant and workforce efforts tied to Justice 50.