THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
Approval of this item supports the County Commission’s Value: Encouraging investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices and environmental protection; and the Goals: Seek funding for, implement policies and pursue projects promoting, the use of alternative energies and sustainable practices; Proactively lead in the planning, design and construction of projects supporting resilience and climate adaptation, including coordination with other entities to foster resilient design as part of local and regional projects, especially shore protection efforts; Increase water quality protection efforts and lead creative approaches to water storage and aquifer recharge, as well as diversification of water supplies, regionally; and Educate the public about the fragile South Florida ecosystems, impacts of severe weather, sea level rise, and climate change, with special emphasis on the coral reef ecosystem.
The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact Regional Climate Action Plan 2.0 (RCAP 2.0) is the revision and update of the Compact’s first Regional Climate Action Plan, which was published in late 2012 and has guided much of the regional, county, municipal, and other stakeholder activity around climate adaptation, community resilience, and GHG emissions reduction efforts in Southeast Florida over the last five years. The regional plan is intended to be updated every five years, and RCAP 2.0 was completed on schedule.
The process to revise and update the RCAP took nearly a year of effort over the course of 2017, including extensive review by Compact Staff Steering Committee members, input by stakeholders and the public via a number of in-person and online methods, and subject-matter expert review. Additional details about the RCAP 2.0 development process are contained in Exhibit 2, the 2017 Compact Activities Summary (pages 4-5).
RCAP 2.0 contains 142 recommendations organized into 12 topic areas. Eight topic areas were retained from the first RCAP, and four new topic areas were created, as noted below:
- Agriculture
- Compact Coordination (new)
- Energy and Fuel
- Natural Systems
- Public Health (new)
- Public Outreach and Engagement
- Public Policy Advocacy
- Regional Economic Resilience (new)
- Risk Reduction and Emergency Management
- Social Equity (new)
- Sustainable Communities and Transportation
- Water
The printable RCAP 2.0 document attached as Exhibit 1 is an abridged version of the RCAP 2.0, containing the 142 top-level recommendations. A more expansive version of RCAP 2.0 is maintained online (www.rcap2.org). The online RCAP 2.0 provides additional details for each recommendation, including proposed implementation measures and related resources. In addition, the recommendations are tagged with keywords and categorical information to allow for different types of stakeholders (e.g., municipalities, state agencies, etc.) working in different fields (e.g., finance, emergency management, etc.) to generate custom lists of relevant recommendations. The online RCAP 2.0 website will also be frequently updated with new information and resources.
On December 8, 2009, Agenda Item No. 50, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners approved the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (Compact), as amended. The Compact was the outcome of the First Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit hosted on October 23, 2009, by Broward County in partnership with Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties. The Compact included a commitment to “dedicate staff time and resources to create a Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Action Plan to include mitigation and adaptation strategies.” Following three years of research, work, and outreach, the Compact Staff Steering Committee published this plan in fall 2012. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners approved the first Southeast Florida Regional Climate Action Plan on October 23, 2012, as Agenda Item No. 50, along with an authorization for the County Administrator to implement the Plan using existing resources and to seek additional grant/partnership resources for implementation.
As with the first RCAP, the Compact partners expect RCAP 2.0 to serve as the main guidance document for climate action in Southeast Florida, allowing effective and efficient coordination of the many public, private, and nonprofit plans, initiatives, and investments in adaptation, resilience, and GHG reduction. To aid in the implementation of RCAP 2.0 over the next five years, the Compact partners will organize and offer workshops pertaining to specific recommendations, develop additional educational and technical materials and tools, and seek additional funding and other resources. |