Lead paragraph
CJAB advises the Mayor and City Council on the development of policies and programs related to the City of Saint Paul’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP). The CJAB’s focus will be to ensure that the costs and benefits of new programs in clean energy, energy efficiency, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and climate resilience and adaptation, are equitably distributed and address the challenges faced by our most vulnerable populations and neighborhoods.
The City of Saint Paul has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions community-wide 50% by 2030 and down to net zero by 2050. The City recognizes that policies and programs could have negative impacts on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities and under-resourced residents if the needs of and challenges faced by these groups are not explicitly addressed. The transition to cleaner energy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions will require significant investment in our communities, and the CJAB will help to ensure that Saint Paul’s most vulnerable residents benefit as much or more from these changes as the City’s less vulnerable populations.
The CARP also identifies strategies for building climate resilience, and the CJAB will advise the Mayor and Council on the design of policies and programs in this area as well. In this context, climate resilience refers to natural, physical, and social infrastructure that makes our community less vulnerable to negative effects of changes in our climate, such as extreme heat and increased flooding.