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On Friday, The City of Tampa released a new plan they call the Climate Action and Equity Plan. The ambitious plan seeks to diminish the city’s contribution to climate change.
“These higher temperatures are taking a bite out of our pocketbooks, they’re threatening our ability to work outside, to play outside, threatening our way of life. We are in a climate emergency.”
Congresswoman Kathy Castor, spoke at a community center in the Westshore area of Tampa. She was joined by the mayor and other community leaders to introduce the city’s first climate action and equity plan.
The plan seeks to reduce Tampa’s contribution to climate change through a variety of methods.
It outlines 143 initiatives across 10 categories, including water, land use, and energy, that seek to improve construction and clean energy in the city.
The plan also identified multiple city buildings, mostly fire and police buildings, that they deem suitable for solar energy. Whit Remer, Tampa’s sustainability and resiliency officer, developed the plan.
“When we build new buildings and replace roofs, we’re going to put solar in. But solar only works on buildings that have maximum energy efficiency already built in. So we’re gonna be upgrading HVACs and windows”
These efforts will be funded by federal and state investments in clean energy.
