Press release from the City of Asheville:
Interested in local energy and climate issues? Come to the City of Asheville’s Climate Resource Guide release and Renewable Energy Initiative community update.
Set for 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, at The Collider, 1 Haywood St., Fourth Floor, the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment (SACEE) will share information on how — as a community and individually — we can become better prepared and more resilient to the effects of climate change. The event will feature the release of “Building a Climate-Resilient Asheville — Personal Action Guide.”
Asheville has a history of climate-related impacts — major floods in 1916 and 2004, landslides, nuisance flooding, wildfires, and the record drought of 2007–2008, to name a few. The city is also facing other stressors, like pressures from population growth, increasing demand for city services, economic changes, land use issues, and the desire to preserve a sense of place.
Through scientific study and cross-department collaboration, the Office of Sustainability worked with NEMAC (National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center) to craft a publication that contains specific actionable steps we can take to mitigate impacts from climate events that affect our residents most frequently, such flooding, landslides and forest fires.
Attendees will also hear a presentation on draft recommendations for the City/County renewable energy roadmap that has been under study this year with the help of public input online and in person through focus groups.
In 2018, Asheville City Council unanimously passed a resolution to transition all municipal operations to renewable energy by 2030 and to support Buncombe County’s community-wide goal to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2042. In partnership with Buncombe County, the City has to develop a roadmap outlining next steps Asheville and Buncombe County should take to achieve the 100% renewable energy goal.
The renewable energy roadmap is still in process, so this is a presentation on the draft. It is expected to be finalized in late summer and presented to Asheville City Council.
On both topics, there will be a presentation and Q&A followed by informal discussions around informational displays about both projects.
The event is free and everyone is encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served. While free, we do ask that attendees fill out this RSVP for planning purposes.
For more information, contact Asheville Sustainability Officer Amber Weaver at AWeaver@ashevillenc.gov or 828-271-6141.
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