Climate Action Stakeholder Process

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The Denver Climate Action Task Force made recommendations to strengthen Denver’s work to address climate change equitably in the following critical areas: Buildings, Transportation, Electricity Generation, Industrial Energy Use, Consumption Emissions and Resiliency/Climate Adaptation.

The task force did this work by engaging experts, interested stakeholders, and a wide range of community members in the process.  The task force:

  • Engaged Denver’s communities in defining goals, gaps, solutions, and investment opportunities.
  • Reviewed goals, current work, and gaps
  • Recommended policies and solutions needed to meet the goals equitably
  • Recommended investment opportunities

The science of climate change is changing quickly.  While the task force’s work aims to bring Denver into line with the latest science, the City will frequently evolve goals, plans and policies to keep pace in the future.

The task force completed their work in June 2020 and developed a recommendations report.  For additional details on all aspects of the Climate Action Stakeholder Process see the drop-downs below.

 

Task Force Charge

The Denver Climate Action Task Force will develop make recommendations to strengthen Denver’s work to address climate change equitably in the following critical areas:

  • Buildings
  • Transportation
  • 100% Renewable Electricity
  • Industrial Energy Use
  • Consumption Emissions
  • Resiliency/Adaptation

The task force will do their work by engaging experts, interested stakeholders, and a wide range of community members in the process. 

The task force will:

Engage Denver’s communities in defining goals, gaps, solutions, and investment opportunities.

  • Engage networks of each member to inform and support their work.
  • Support the City in developing and implementing a broader community engagement strategy that informs their work.

Review goals, current work, and gaps

  • Review and update the City’s goals in the 80x50 Climate Action plan to align with the latest climate science.
  • Review current climate work by the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency so that the task force outcomes build upon this strong foundation.
  • Review the gaps between current work and what is necessary to achieve the goals equitably and to begin work on climate resiliency.

Recommend the policies and solutions needed to meet the goals equitably

  • Define where policies and requirements are necessary to close the gap to achieving scientifically informed goals. 
  • Develop a set of high-level solutions and strategies (e.g. marketing, training, incentives) that the City must implement to support our community and enable the passage of equitable policies.

Recommend investment opportunities

  • Determine the level of funding that is needed to implement the proposed policies and solutions. 
  • Select one or more revenue sources to fill any agreed upon funding gap.

The science of climate change is changing quickly.  While the task force’s work will aim to bring Denver into line with the latest science, the City will frequently evolve goals, plans and policies to keep pace in the future.

The task force will complete their work by May of 2020.  

Task Force Meetings

All meetings were open to public observers. Due to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns some meetings took place virtually. Virtual meetings were streamed on Facebook Live. Meeting agendas, notes, and recordings are available below.

 

Background and Task Force Members

In August 2019, Mayor Hancock and Denver City Council announced a plan to strengthen Denver’s work to address climate change by launching a process to examine current climate work, identify gaps to achieve scientifically informed goals, develop an investment strategy to fill those gaps, analyze funding needs, and agree on a revenue source to fill any funding gaps.

We received over 260 applications to join the task force. The Climate Action Task Force members are as follows:

  • Brandon Rietheimer, Resilient Denver
  • Dominique Gomez, Salazar Center for North American Conservation
  • Emily Gedeon, Sierra Club - Colorado
  • Eugene Downing, New Hope Baptist Church
  • Frank Locantore, Colfax Ave BID
  • George E. Ware, Community Member
  • Jackie Bouvier, Santa Fe BID
  • Jasmin Barco, Eco-Cycle
  • Jennifer Gremmert, Energy Outreach Colorado
  • Jessica Goad, Conservation Colorado
  • Jon Buerge, Urban Villages / LoDo District / Downtown BID
  • Kathie A Barstnar, NAIOP Colorado, the Commercial Real Estate Association
  • Kelly Shanley, Student Advocate, Community College of Denver
  • Laura Zaspel, Serendipity Catering
  • Lori Pace, Denver Metro Association of Realtors
  • Micaela Iron Shell-Dominguez, International Indigenous Youth Council
  • Mike Kruger, Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA)
  • Naomi Amaha, Denver Streets Partnership
  • Patricia G Iwasaki, Metro/NorthEast Denver
  • Piep van Heuven, Bicycle Colorado
  • Rhiannon Duryea, Denver Area Labor Federation
  • Sam Knaizer, BPX Energy, BP America
  • Sebastian Andrews, Youth Sustainability Board, environmentally concerned youth of Denver
  • Thomas Riggle, Resilient Denver
  • Tyler Smith, Xcel Energy
  • Veronica Booz, Green Valley Ranch/KIPP Colorado Schools

Community Engagement

The Climate Action Task Force have focused on engaging the community in the process through a variety of ways:

  • Hosted 2 rounds of small community meetings with hundreds of Denverites in February and March.
  • Hosted Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings in April with: youth, climate activists, labor and workforce, business and industry, people vulnerable to climate impacts, and frontline communities.
  • Made the DenverClimateAction.Consider.It website available from April 20-May 4 for public input.

Read the full report on community support for climate action in Denver.

Learn more about Denver’s current work and best practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with our 2-page fact sheets:

Learn more about Denver’s current work and best practices for climate adaptation and resilience.