Moving Beyond Talk: Resilient Communities for America Agreement

Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Patrice ParsonsA Capital Area Symposium Director of External RelationsAustin, Texas Patrice.parsons@iclei.org

ICLEI: The Leading Global Network

• Who are we? ICLEI is a network of more than 400 local governments in the US leading on sustainability and resilience. ICLEI builds the capacity of local governments to tackle tough challenges like extreme weather and climate change, with tools, training, technical assistance, networking opportunities, leadership recognition, and other resources

3

Resilience initiatives work well at a regional scale because the challenges are often shared regionally and the solutions often need to be coordinated regionally.

3

4

Collaborative regional approaches can also be more attractive to funders and can better

leverage resources that are available

4

*ICLEI facilitated San Diego Bay Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategy

Critical Components for Success

Steering Committee

–Public agencies with jurisdiction over area planning that are interested in developing actionable recommendations.

Stakeholders Working Group

–Entities with an interest in regional planning that will be critical to reaching desired outcomes.

Technical Advisory Committee

–Entities willing to volunteer their expertise in topic areas central to the planning process.

Regional Adaptation Initiatives - Changing Climate, Changing Communities: For Municipal Climate Adaptation - Guide & Workbook - Adaptation Initiative

- Climate Resilient Communities Program

- Preparing for Climate Change Guidebook

- ADAPT online management tool

- Participatory Vulnerability Assessment Survey Tool

The Municipal Climate Action Plan (PACMUN) Program

Sub-Saharan African Cities: 5 City Network for Adaptation Solutions

- Local Government Climate Adaptation Toolkit

- PAKLIM Program

- Guide & Toolkit for Asian Cities (ACCCRN)

- Adapting Urban Water Systems to Climate Change

- SWITCH – Managing Water for the City of the Future

- AsianCitiesAdapt

- Guide & Toolkit for Asian Cities (ACCCRN)

- AsianCitiesAdapt- AdaptCap

- Sub Regional Node of APAN

- AsianCitiesAdapt- ACCCRN (upcoming)

Rallying the leadership and commitment of mayors and county officials to overcome our

nation’s climate and energy challenges

Campaign Chair:Mayor Kevin JohnsonSacramento, CA

Partners & Leaders

Advisory Committee: city & county staff, academics, business leadersEndorsing Partners: Mayors Innovation Project; The San Diego Foundation, Department of Energy

Championing the leadership of hundreds of local elected officials who commit to creating stronger, more prepared communities that can bounce back from extreme weather, energy, and economic challenges

Resilient Communities for America Overview

Climate• Prepare for extreme weather and climate impacts

• Reduce carbon pollution

Energy• Expand local

renewable energy• Increase energy

efficiency

Economy• Protect businesses,

infrastructure and assets from climate impacts

• Ensure reliable access to water and energy

“ the ability to bounce back from disruptions in a sustainable way and maintain a good quality of life for all ”

Infrastructure• Upgrade and protect critical infrastructure

• Create new financing models

• Harness innovations in information technology and green infrastructure

Paths to Resilience

• 1,000 + elected official signatories by 2015 who pledge to create more resilient communities by signing the Resilient Communities for America Agreement.

• More local governments taking measureable action on climate and energy issues, empowered through campaign tools, resources, collaboration

• Create greater federal and state awareness and support of community resilience and local climate action

• Cities and counties leading a new resilience movement

Goals & Outcomes

1. We urge state and federal leaders to support our local resilience initiatives and to take meaningful steps to build resilience and security throughout the nation.

2. We commit to building community resilience through our own local actions.

3. We commit to sharing our solutions, success stories, and annual progress with other local governments through the Resilient Communities for America online platform.

Commitments in the Agreement

• Resilient Communities for America Agreement:

• Sign-on letter for elected officials to formalize commitment, showcase leadership

Agreement Letter

80 top local elected officials (partial list)

Signatories

Mayor Kevin Johnson Sacramento, CAMayor Vincent Gray Washington, DCMayor Mark Mallory Cincinnati, OHMayor Michael Hancock Denver, COMayor Tom Barrett Milwaukee, WIMayor Sly JamesKansas City, MOMayor Paul FraimNorfolk, VAMayor Frank Cownie Des Moines, IAMayor Kristin Jacobs Broward County, FLMayor John P. "Jack" Seiler Fort Lauderdale, FLMayor Jean QuanOakland, CAMayor George Heartwell Grand Rapids, MIMayor Dawn Zimmer Hoboken, NJMayor Ralph Becker Salt Lake City, UTSupervisor Salud Carbajal Santa Barbara County, CA

• Campaign Launch – June 2013– Launch even at National Press Club with +100 attendees – Press coverage in 120 new outlets, including AP, Reuters, and LA Times

• US Conference of Mayors Resolution– Introduced by Mayor Johnson of Sacramento and Mayor Cownie of Des

Moines– Adopted unanimously

• White House Conference Call– Discussion with senior White House officials for campaign signatories

and ICLEI members

• Website live with e-signature capability – www.resilientamerica.org

• 82 signatories as of September 27th.

Success Stories

• Resilience Leadership Breakfast– Exclusive event for Signatories at the NLC Annual

Congress

• Tools and Partnerships– ICLEI to release Extreme Events Communication

Guidebook and begin work on next-gen software tools

– Expanding group of partners providing tools and resources through the campaign

• Recruitment – Outreach leading to 350 Signatories by Spring,

2014

Next Steps

The 5 Milestone Adaptation Planning Process-The climate is already changing, and climate change impacts are

projected to get worse in the coming years.

-Significant time is required to motivate and develop adaptive capacity, and to implement changes.

-Today’s choices will shape tomorrow’s vulnerabilities.

-Proactive planning is often more effective and less costly than reactive planning, and can provide immediate benefits.

-Connect climate change back to local impacts – especially extreme weather events

-“Those who report experience of flooding express more concern over climate change, see it as less uncertain and feel more confident that their actions will have an effect on climate change. Importantly, these perceptual differences also translate into a greater willingness to save energy to mitigate climate change” - A. Spence et. al., Nature, March 2011

Why Adapt? – Cost-effective Preparedness

The 5 Milestone Adaptation Planning Process

Why Adapt?

- Why Not?

Local action: the real driver of climate progress.

• Picture of the globe – iconic… or other iconic global picture

• (from bottom? Sunlight peering out?)

Patrice “Pete” ParsonsDirector of External RelationsICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA

Patrice.parsons@iclei.org210-722-7270

www.icleiusa.org

7