LEGAL NEWS PHOTO BY CYNTHIA PRICE
By Cynthia Price
Legal News
Climate change adaptation is an increasingly respected strategy as significant impacts of global warming become evident.
And it should come as no surprise that Grand Rapids is leading the way.
On Nov. 18, Mayor George Heartwell joined representatives from ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA to announce that Grand Rapids is one of eight communities nationally to launch Climate Adaptation tools.
This is by no means an indication that Grand Rapids has given up the struggle to mitigate climate change inputs. From increasing its urban forest cover (see Grand Rapids Legal News 11/3/10) to supporting The Rapid transit authority and installing bike lanes, the City has kept up its mitigation efforts to such an extent that it was designated the nation’s most sustainable mid-size city by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Indeed the city’s progress in reducing fossil fuel usage has been highly impressive. Renewable resource energy provides 22% of the municipal operations power currently. Heartwell is confident that the goal of sourcing 100% of renewable energy by 2020 is feasible, as there are three renewable energy projects under development. The City has focused on decreasing overall use through energy efficiency and conservation, achieving an 11% reduction in the past seven years.
As early as 2005, these efforts were recognize by the United Nations when it named Grand Rapids as the first U.S. city to be a “Regional Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Development.”
But Heartwell comments, “All of this is important. Yet the impacts of climate change that are upon us demand forward-looking cities to plan for climate change adaptation...As mayor of Grand Rapids I would not want to abandon our efforts at climate change mitigation. We are a national leader and model community. However, it would be irresponsible for me not to acknowledge the changes that we are already experiencing and prepare the community to deal with them in the decades to come.”
Citing such likely effects of climate change as extreme storm weather events and extreme heat conditions, Heartwell says that the ICLEI USA tools will help prepare Grand Rapids for the demands of the future. Planning assisted by the package will bring about greater emergency preparedness along with infrastructure improvements such as larger stormwater collection and treatment facilities and protection for the power grid.
Comments Haris Alibasic, Director of the Grand Rapids Office of Energy and Sustainability, “This tool is user friendly and will help communities to tackle the climate change issues, to plan for potential impact, and to share information and best practices. We are very pleased with our partnership with ICLEI and have been working closely with them on other projects as well [including] in September...the Future Cities conference held here in Grand Rapids with focus on Climate Strategies for Sustainable Communities.”
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, formerly called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, has been around since 1990, created when over 200 local governments from 43 countries convened in New York.
Boston, Tucson, Miami-Dade County, San Francisco (through its Bay Commission), Cambridge Mass., Flagstaff Ariz., and Lee County, Fla. join Grand Rapids in launching the tools.
“While all ICLEI members can tap into adaptation planning resources and tools that are available from the Climate Resilient Communities program, the eight cities, counties and the bay commission will receive additional technical support,” said ICLEI USA Executive Director Martin Chavez.
According to Alibasic, the “Climate Resilient Communities™” package is the first standardized planning process for communities in the adaptation area. The main tool is the advanced Adaptation and Database Planning Tool (ADAPT), which helps assess community vulnerabilities, set resiliency goals, and develop effective strategies that integrate into existing planning. Strategies might include diversifying water supplies or planting vegetation to counteract urban “heat island” effects. The package also offers communities access to the most current climate science; technical guidance on best practices and resiliency planning; profiles of successful projects; regular webinars and workshops; and an online networking forum.
More information can be obtained at http://www.icleiusa.org/programs/climate/Climate_Adaptation/climate-resilient-communities-program.
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