Statement posted on February 6, 2017
The City of Fort Collins has been dedicated to climate protection since 1997, when our first climate committee developed a plan that was passed by City Council in 1999. That plan was called “City of Fort Collins Local Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Subsequent plans have been named the “Climate Action Plan” (CAP). Since 1999, our plans have been updated twice to reflect recent climate science.
Other cities, counties, states, and provinces have adopted their own plans. Below are a few, and their titles.
Austin, TX
Community Climate Plan
Berkeley, CA
Climate Action Plan
Boston, MA
Climate Action Plan
Boulder, CO
Climate Commitment Plan
Burlington, VT
Climate Action Plan
Caledon, CA
Community Climate Change Action Plan
Chicago, IL
Climate Action Plan
Hayward, CA
Climate Action Plan
Los Angeles, CA
Climate Action Plan
Milpitas, CA
Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy
Manila, Philippines
Climate Change Action Plan
Oakland, CA
Climate Action Plan
Portland, OR
Climate Action Plan
Santa Ana, CA
Climate Action Plan
Seattle, WA
Climate Action Plan
Cook County, IL
Climate Change & Public Health Action Plan
King County, WA
Strategic Climate Action Plan
San Diego County Water Authority, CA
Climate Action Plan
New England Governors/E. Canadian Premiers
Climate Change Action Plan 2001
Province of Manitoba, Canada
Climate Change Action Plan
Province of Ontario, Canada
Climate Change Action Plan
State of California
Climate Strategy
State of Colorado
Colorado Climate Action Plan
State of New York
Climate Action Plan
State of Pennsylvania
Climate Change Action Plan
As can be seen from the above list, nearly every governmental entity has named their plan the “Climate Action Plan” or similar. It is clear the term has passed into the vernacular. Any name without “climate” would obfuscate and weaken our plan’s intent, its subject, or both. Current City “re-branding” has promoted names such as “The Road to 2020” and “Fortify Fort Collins.” Unfortunately, both terms are extremely vague and could mean anything. They give little sense of what our climate program is, or what it means to accomplish.
The City needs to clarify, through a transparent, public process, precisely what it is trying to accomplish through re-branding. If no legitimate need for a re-branding can be clearly identified by city and community stakeholders, the name “Climate Action Plan” should be retained. If it is determined that re-branding will help broaden citizen engagement and support for the CAP’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, the Fort Collins Sustainability Group is happy to participate in such a process.
Conclusion:
We support messaging that communicates the many economic and health benefits of the City’s 2015 Climate Action Plan. However, for the sake of clarity and to keep the discussion grounded in science, the City should not consider any name for its plan that does not contain the word “climate.”