Versión en español a continuación. Special Meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee January 28, 2021 Joint Sustainability Committee to be held January 28, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (January 27, 2021 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the January 28, 2021 Joint Sustainability Committee Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 415-694-3111 and zach.baumer@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (January 27, 2021). The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to zach.baumer@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If this meeting is broadcast live, residents may watch the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión Especial del Comité Conjunto de Sostenibilidad Enero 28, 2021 La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (enero 27, 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de junta al 415-694-3111 o zach.baumer@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión – enero 27, la 2021). La información requerida es el nombre del orador, los números de artículo sobre los que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutrales, y un número de teléfono o dirección de correo electrónico. • Una vez que se haya llamado o enviado por correo electrónico una solicitud para hablar al enlace de …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Joint Sustainability Committee Recommendation 20210128-2B – Resolution in Support of COA State Legislative Agenda WHEREAS, the City of Austin’s greatest asset is its people who are passionate about their city, committed to its improvement, and determined to see its vision become a reality; and WHEREAS, the percent of registered voters who voted in the past 4 years of city elections exceeded 60 percent; and WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of registered voters who live in Austin voted for the current Austin City Council representation; and WHEREAS, over 700 Austinites participate and serve on over 60 Boards and Commissions to help shape, and continually improve upon the policies of the City and the lives of its Residents; and WHEREAS, the input provided to the Austin City Council through the City’s Boards and Commissions reflects the will of the community; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Austin that the legislative agenda guide City staff, in coordination with the City’s strategic partners, in their efforts to advocate on behalf of the City of Austin and its residents; and WHEREAS, each year, the Texas Legislature increasingly attempts to pass legislation that negatively impacts the City through preemption or limiting the ability to advocate; and WHEREAS, the 2019 Legislature strongly considered and almost passed S.B. 29 which would have limited the ability of the City to utilize community advocates to effectively advocate on behalf of the policies created and supported by its residents; and WHEREAS, taxpayers and City residents benefit from and need community advocates as a tool that amplifies their voices before the Legislature, Congress, and regulatory bodies; and WHEREAS, a prohibition on community advocacy equates to censorship of Residents’ voices and is detrimental to a representative democracy where all Austinites and Texans have equal opportunities to voice their opinions. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION THAT: • The Joint Sustainability Committee endorses the City of Austin’s 2020 Legislative Agenda adopted by the Austin City Council on September 17th, 2020. • The Joint Sustainability Committee believes the general principals of the policy and position statements contained in the City of Austin’s state legislative agenda capture the positions of its membership and the community it represents. • The Joint Sustainability Committee urges all Austin delegation members of the Texas Legislature to protect the City’s right to …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Joint Sustainability Committee Recommendation 20210128-2C –Support for the Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration The Joint Sustainability Committee voted to recommend that the City of Austin support the Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration, outlined below. Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration A commitment by subnational governments to tackle the climate emergency through integrated food policies and a call on national governments to act. This Declaration brings together all types and sizes of local authorities – from small and medium sized towns to mega-cities, districts and regions, territories, federal states and provinces – to speak with a unified voice in renewing their commitments to develop sustainable food policies, promote mechanisms for joined-up action and call on national governments to put food and farming at the heart of the global response to the climate emergency. 1. Concerned that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the fragility of our food systems, the vulnerabilities of large parts of urban and rural populations and the critical need for preparedness and resilience in the face of shocks; 2. Acknowledging that food systems currently account for 21-37%1 of total GHGs, and are at the heart of many of the world’s major challenges today including biodiversity loss, enduring hunger and malnutrition, and an escalating public health crisis; 3. Recognizing that unsustainable dynamics are locked in along the whole food chain, primarily stemming from industrial food and farming systems; 4. Recognizing that extreme inequalities are pervasive throughout the food system, and are disproportionately affecting communities including people living in poverty, people experiencing racism, people displaced due to climate change or conflict, people with precarious legal status, and many others; and furthermore that many of these same groups are exploited for their labour globally; 1 IPCC (2019). Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.- O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. 5. Convinced, therefore, that only a food systems approach targeting all the Sustainable Development Goals can identify effective intervention points to accelerate climate action while delivering many co-benefits, including the promotion of biodiversity, ecosystem …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Joint Sustainability Committee Recommendation 20210128-2D –Support for the Austin Climate Equity Plan The Joint Sustainability Committee recommends that the Austin City Council direct the City Manager to: 1. Support the Office of Sustainability in working with all city department to assess actions already initiated and new actions to propose for the FY 2021/2022 budget to implement the Austin Climate Equity Plan; and 2. Support the Office of Sustainability in making a budget assessment for additional staff and resources for the Office of Sustainability and Equity Office to assist all departments in conducting equitable and inclusive community outreach to implement the strategies in the Austin Climate Equity Plan, in addition to sustained funding for the Community Climate Ambassadors program. Record of the vote: Motion to approve by Commissioner White, second by Commissioner Coyne. Motion passes 10 approve, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. Date of approval: January 28, 2021 Attest: __________________________________ Zach Baumer, Liaison
(Continua en español) RESILIENCE IN COMMUNITY IS Background: Building up resilience for our community means helping Austin become stronger together in the face of challenges, whether those are big shock events, or ongoing challenges, especially for those most vulnerable and most affected by those challenges within our community. In 2020 the Austin City Council passed a resolution calling for resolution building activities, including a comprehensive resilience planning process. The goal of the planning process is to identify and move forward strategies that create a more resilient Austin. Building up our resilience is more important now than ever! To do so we aim to work hand in hand with residents. LA RESILIENCIA EN COMUNIDAD ES Contexto: Avanzar la resilencia para nuestra comunidad significa ayudar a Austin a ser más fuerte juntos frente a los desafíos, ya sea que se trate de grandes eventos de choque, o los desafíos constantes, con un enfoque especial en las personas más vulnerables y más afectadas por esos desafíos. En 2020 el Consejo de la Ciudad de Austin aprobó una resolución pidiendo el inicio de actividades para avanzar la resiliencia, incluyendo un proceso comprehensivo de planificación de la resiliencia. El objetivo del proceso de planificación es identificar y avanzar estrategias que creen un Austin más resiliente. Avanzar nuestra resilencia es más importante ahora que nunca! Para ello, nos proponemos trabajar mano a mano con los residentes.
Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration A commitment by subnational governments to tackle the climate emergency through integrated food policies and a call on national governments to act This Declaration brings together all types and sizes of local authorities – from small and medium sized towns to mega-cities, districts and regions, territories, federal states and provinces – to speak with a unified voice in renewing their commitments to develop sustainable food policies, promote mechanisms for joined-up action and call on national governments to put food and farming at the heart of the global response to the climate emergency. 1. Concerned that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the fragility of our food systems, the vulnerabilities of large parts of urban and rural populations and the critical need for preparedness and resilience in the face of shocks; 2. Acknowledging that food systems currently account for 21-37%1 of total GHGs, and are at the heart of many of the world’s major challenges today including biodiversity loss, enduring hunger and malnutrition, and an escalating public health crisis; 3. Recognizing that unsustainable dynamics are locked in along the whole food chain, primarily stemming from industrial food and farming systems; 4. Recognizing that extreme inequalities are pervasive throughout the food system, and are disproportionately affecting communities including people living in poverty, people experiencing racism, people displaced due to climate change or conflict, people with precarious legal status, and many others; and furthermore that many of these same groups are exploited for their labour globally; 5. Convinced, therefore, that only a food systems approach targeting all the Sustainable Development Goals can identify effective intervention points to accelerate climate action while delivering many co-benefits, including the promotion of biodiversity, ecosystem regeneration and resilience, circularity, equity, access to healthy and sustainable diets for all, and the creation of resilient livelihoods for farm and food workers; 6. Recognizing the need to involve all food system stakeholders in decision-making for a sustainable and just transition – including food and farm workers, civil society groups, researchers, indigenous communities, women, and especially youth whose future are the most at risk from the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss; 7. Recalling that cities and regions are leading the way in pioneering integrated food policies and strategies at the local level to reduce their environmental footprint, drive positive food system change and ensure greater resilience to shocks; 1 IPCC (2019). Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate …
Accompanying Document to the Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration The Glasgow Declaration pledges to accelerate the development of integrated food policies as a key tool in the fight against climate change, commits local authorities to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban and regional food systems in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and calls on national governments and international institutions to act. Why take a food system approach to climate? Today’s food systems account for 21-37% of total GHGs, are a primary cause of environmental degradation and significantly contribute to socio-economic and health inequalities. In turn, food systems are also being affected by the climate and nature crisis, which has already begun to affect the predictability of yields and food prices and the reliability of distribution, as well as food quality, food safety and food security for all. As such, sustainable food systems worldwide must be founded in access to healthy diets and nutrition for all, agroecology and regenerative agriculture, circular economy and the provisioning of just livelihoods. Achieving these systems and meeting current challenges requires taking a food systems approach that addresses the range and complexity of interactions within food systems. A food systems approach provides a crucial framework to identify, analyze and address synergies and tradeoffs between various climate change responses. It does so by considering the range of actors and interactions involved in producing, manufacturing, supplying, consuming and disposing of food, while also recognizing their profound interconnections with public health and the underlying socio- cultural, economic, biophysical and institutional factors that shape our food systems. A food system approach, therefore, considers that different problems in food systems are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing. In the design and implementation of integrated policy frameworks, this approach recognizes food systems for their potential to generate positive impacts, playing an integral part in embedding health, prosperity and sustainability into everyday life and practice. Unless all food systems’ impacts are considered together, climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies associated with food production and consumption are likely to be inefficient. Why policy integration across levels & sectors? The multiple policies affecting food systems must be urgently reformed to address climate change, biodiversity loss, the rise of diet-related diseases, ensure food security and access for all and guarantee sustainable livelihoods for farm- and food-workers. To do so, actions must be aligned across policy areas and between different levels of …
Aust in Climat e Equit y Plan - St at us Updat e - January 28, 2020 Recent Act ivit ies ● Took in 53 pages of detailed comments ● Created a November internal draft ● More Revisions ● Finalizing a new draft final document in February ● Will transmit a summary of comments and the Draft Final Plan to Council in March ● Will be drafting a Request for Council Action to adopt the Plan Upcoming Schedule February 23 – Planning and Housing Council Committee March 11 – Mobility Council Committee March 23 – City Council Work Session March 25 – City Council Meeting Implement at ion – Long View (1) Account abilit y: ● Ongoing City Council feedback, attention, and engagement ● Continued activity and energy to center equity in implementation ● City Departments Accountable to the City Manager ● City Council Accountability to the Community Sust ained Communit y Engagement : ● Community engagement and inclusive participation ● Boards and Commissions engaged, supportive, and listened to ● Ongoing support and engagement from the Equity office ● Support and action from residents and individuals ● Leadership and participation by businesses Funding: ● Non-city funding and spending on implementation ● City Budget allocations for spending on implementation Implement at ion – Long View (2) ● Create a new Council Committee on Environmental Justice to provide leadership on these topics and to oversee implementation of and future updates to the Austin Climate Equity Plan ● Add the topic of environmental justice to an existing council committee ● Adopt an ordinance to update the bylaws for the Joint Sustainability Committee to add five additional members to the committee from the Austin community, appointed by City Council. ● Create a day-long convening of all the steering committee, advisory group members, and climate ambassadors and community for a celebration of plan adoption, and kickoff of implementation. Sponsored by Ofc Sustainability and Equity Office. Repeat this convening annually to report on progress and keep everyone engaged. ● An existing non-profit or coalition of non-profit partners with the City to raise money for implementation and / or keep up the pressure on City Council to implement the plan Implement at ion – Now ● Focus on the Strategies and Policy Changes that are already underway or connected with ongoing efforts ● Talk with Departments about what is proposed to be funded in the FY21-22 Budget …
Item 1 JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING January 28, 2021 The Joint Sustainability Committee convened in a special meeting on January 28, 2021 via videoconferencing. Chair Kaiba White called the Board Meeting to order at 9:07 am. Board Members in Attendance: Kaiba White Chair, Katie Coyne Vice-Chair, Melissa Rothrock, Karen Magid, Alberta Phillips, Nhat Ho, Rob Schneider, Kelly Davis, Holt Lackey, Karen Hadden Board Members Absent: Fisayo Fadelu, David Carroll City Staff in Attendance: Zach Baumer, Phoebe Romero CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers who registered in advance for public comment have three minutes each to address items on the agenda at this time. • None 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) November 19, 2020 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee • Motion to approve (Commissioner Hadden), second (Commissioner Coyne),10 approved, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. 2. NEW BUSINESS a) Approval of 2021 JSC Meeting Schedule (Discussion and/or possible action) • Commissioners voted to approve the schedule as proposed. • Motion to approve (Commissioner Ho) second (Commissioner Coyne) with no changes. 10 approved, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. meeting. b) Resolution for consideration in support of COA State Legislative Agenda (Discussion and/or possible action) • Commissioners voted to approve based on presentation on this topic from a previous • Motion to approve (Commissioner Phillips), second (Commissioner Coyne) with no changes. 10 approved, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. c) Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration Overview (Discussion and/or possible action) • Recommendation for cities to sign on to this food and climate declaration that is well- aligned with Austin Climate Equity Plan, and will also be going to the Austin-Travis County Food and Policy Board • Motion to approve (Commissioner White), second (Commissioner Phillips) with no changes. 10 approved, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. d) Update from the Climate Program Manager – Zach Baumer, Office of Sustainability (Discussion and/or possible action) • Update on process and schedule including finalizing the Austin Climate Equity Plan and getting it on the council agenda • Key issues to think about are accountability, sustained community engagement, funding, and building a baseline for actions • Commissioners discuss the importance of funding, the current budget process and ensuring implementation • Commissioner Coyne makes motion to approve processes outlined by Zach Baumer in his presentation. Commissioner White proposes to have an assessment to hire additional staff to conduct community outreach in a manner to help advance and continue Community Climate Ambassadors …
