COP28 Report from Julie Hiromoto
While most of the coverage and focus of the annual United Nations climate conference (COP) is focused on the Parties’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs), there is also an opportunity to shine a light on and celebrate the amazing work being done by subnational governments, citizen activists, and community advocates at a grassroots level. One of the greatest obstacles to realizing climate action is that our goals can seem too big and too difficult to achieve. As government leaders converge at COP28 to tackle the global challenge, it’s important to remember that local advocacy accelerates climate action.
I live in Dallas, Texas, where I am Mayor Johnson’s appointee to the Dallas Environmental Commission. In April 2020, the Dallas City Council unanimously passed our city’s first Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan (CECAP). You might be surprised to learn that The Brookings Institution ranked it highest among the 50 U.S. cities’ decarbonization plans it reviewed in 2022 (Exploring gaps in city climate planning and the need for regional action).
The strength of the Dallas CECAP lies in the way it enables citizens to hold elected officials accountable to its measurable commitments. It contextualizes Dallas’s heat, drought, flooding, and public health challenges by explaining how climate change translates to: 1) lost business opportunities, 2) increased costs for infrastructure and public services, 3) risks to long-term regional growth, and 4) environmental justice. The plan frames climate change in ways that matter most to residents, inspiring them to act.
Every year, the City of Dallas reports on CECAP progress towards the eight goals and their 200+ milestones. Using an adaptive management process, 18 city departments have an ownership role in executing the plan. Since 2015, Dallas has achieved an 11% GHG reduction, despite its 5% population growth.
Close collaboration with the North Central Texas Council of Governments aligns and informs the work of the larger Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including the fast-growing cities of Plano, Richardson, and Arlington. This constellation of independent cities works together to address the mitigation and adaptation responses in a coordinated effort because the climate crisis and its impacts do not abide by our geopolitical boundaries.
On December 1-2, the UNFCC (with Bloomberg Green) is hosting the first-ever local climate action summit at COP to integrate federal, regional and local governments’ climate action efforts along the themes of finance, aggregate influence, fast-tracking local energy transition, and strengthening local resilience and adaptation. The year’s COP negotiations will set international expectations and establish each nation’s part in this collective effort (the NDCs), but these negotiations are often slower than the pace of local governments.
Our local leaders live in the communities they represent. They understand the risks, have the power to act, and are held accountable by their constituent neighbors. Their children go to school together. We suffer through the ever more frequent extreme climate events and natural disasters. The ability of our Mayors, City Councilmembers, and other elected officials to understand the needs of their community and communicate a vision that speaks to their values is potent. This summit recognizes the critical role local leaders play in reducing our climate risk and implementing positive change. Watch the live stream on the Bloomberg Youtube Channel.
Julie Hiromoto, FAIA, is Principal and Director of Integration at HKS.