Back in the Fall, I asked my colleagues on the City Council if we could create a Working Group to look at updating our renewable energy goal. Mayor Mitchell, Councilmember Keating, and I wanted to look at moving beyond the City’s current goal of having 20% of our municipal energy come from renewable sources by 2025.
With the knowledge and guidance of City of Tempe energy staff and local stakeholders, including ASU professors and engineering, business, and sustainability students, environmental organizations ( e.g., Sierra Club, the Arizona Sustainability Alliance, and Environment Arizona), and the utilities, our Working Group is bringing forward a proposal for public feedback that I believe is not only good public policy, but makes a strong statement about the kind of government and the values we believe in here in Tempe.
We’re proposing that Tempe set a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050 and have 100% of energy provided by renewable sources by 2035 for all city operations.
There are two ways for Tempe residents to offer feedback on these aspirational goals as we get closer to a final recommendation for the Council.
- Visit www.tempe.gov/forum and look for the question on Renewable Energy Targets. There are links for more information about the proposal and about carbon-neutrality and renewable energy in general. The Forum question will be open through Wednesday, January 24, 2018.
- There’ll be a public meeting on January 17th where staff will be able to explain not only the proposed goals but how they fit into Tempe’s larger Climate Action Plan that we’ll be developing over the next 18 months. Additionally, Michele Crim, Climate and Resilience Manager for the City of Portland, will offer a brief keynote on the topic. Join us to have your voice heard!
Renewable Energy Target – Public Meeting
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Pyle Center at the Tempe Library Complex
655 E Southern Ave, Tempe, 85282
Please join us on January 17th or chime in online anytime!