#WorldEnvironmentDay is about encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. SRF’s newest public engagement coordinator, Dan McNiel, knows this best from his work with the city of St. Paul’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) during his master’s capstone at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Unlike other cities’ climate action plans, St. Paul’s CARP focuses heavily on improving social resilience by identifying vulnerable populations and addressing the impacts climate change is already having on residents. Dan and his colleagues helped promote the plan through various community engagement events, often in areas where underrepresented groups’ voices were heard, as well as recommending opportunities for youth to share their ideas and facilitate community engagement events. The city of St. Paul took on some ideas that were planned, designed and led by youth groups, specifically their Climate Inheritance Resolution, a plan that is designed to be inclusive of youth and disadvantaged groups for future climate-related policy decisions. Learn more about St. Paul youth’s Climate Inheritance Resolution here. Thanks to the recommendations by Dan and his colleagues, and the youth groups that stepped up to the plate in this important issue, St. Paul has committed to reducing its carbon emissions 50% by 2030.
Learn more about the plan by visiting https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/mayors-office/climate-action-planning/climate-action-resilience-draft-plan