PROVIDENCE – Mayor Jorge O. Elorza released a Climate Justice Plan Friday in collaboration with the Providence Office of Sustainability and members of the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee.
The plan sets city goals to create a more equitable climate plan to lower emissions and increase climate resiliency without disproportionately benefiting more-affluent neighborhoods.
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In the report, Elorza sets a city goal of going carbon neutral by 2050.
The plan also aims to support front-line communities, or communities nearer to carbon pollutants such as power plants, industrial areas and highways. Such communities tend to be lower-income communities of color, the report said.
“Despite being one of the three pillars of sustainability, equity is often an afterthought when it comes to climate action planning,” said Elorza in the report. “In creating this plan, we chose to lead with equity and partnered with those who are most impacted by the climate crisis and other environmental injustices.”
The climate justice plan outlines a process to make decisions regarding climate and pollutants in the city to be more equitable to those communities, including collaborating with those communities in governance and engaging in training for municipal workers on implicit biases.
The plan includes methods for creating carbon-neutral homes without resident displacement.
Other strategies include:
- Increasing knowledge of low-income energy programs.
- Advocating for legally binding pollution reduction.
- Exploration of zoning and land-use policy to reduce pollution.
- Efforts to reduce food waste in the city.
- The creation of workforce-development programs to support the transition to a green economy.
- Set goals of 50% carbon-free electricity generation by 2035.
- Increase electrical vehicle use in the city.
- Increase bike-share use by 10%.
The full report may be viewed online.
