Observe Lane County Climate Advisory Committee

By Rob Zako
November 18, 2020
  • Lane County is developing a Climate Action Plan.
  • A Climate Advisory Committee is charged with assisting the Board of Commissioners in this work. BEST executive director Rob Zako is a member.
  • The 2nd meeting of the committee is on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

The purpose of the Climate Action Advisory Committee (CAC) is to advise the Lane County Board of Commissioners (Board) on policy decisions regarding climate change. The CAC may provide input to the Board on agenda items or may propose new policy directives.

The CAC is charged to assist the County in developing the County’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) and implement actions to meet Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions targets.

CAC members were approved at the September 16, 2020, meeting of the Board:

  1. Sarah Altemus-Pope, Founder and Executive Director, Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
  2. Amanda Astor, Forest Policy Manager, Associated Oregon Loggers
  3. Stephan Aumuck, Principal, Kalapuya High School
  4. Joe Berney, Lane County Commissioner
  5. Maya Buchanan, Senior Climate Change Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Energy
  6. Haley Case-Scott, Climate Justice Grassroots Organizer, Beyond Toxics and NAACP Eugene/Springfield
  7. David Eisler, Siuslaw Watershed Council and Siuslaw National Forest’s collaborative Stewardship Groups
  8. Dr. M Jackson, geographer, glaciologist, and science communicator
  9. Tao Orion, Owner, Resilience Permaculture Design
  10. Eloise Parish-Mueller, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Studies and International Studies, University of Oregon
  11. Rob Zako, Executive Director, Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST)

Read bios of the committee members.

Lane County actions

On February 4, 2020, the Board ordered the following actions:

  1. Conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and develop an internal plan(Climate Action Plan—Phase 1) for County operations to establish greenhouse gas reduction targets and implementation plans to meet County targets; and
  2. Develop a comprehensive countywide plan (Climate Action Plan—Phase 2) with community engagement to outline aggressive goals and strategies, aligned in partnership with local cities climate actions, to establish countywide community targets and high priority areas of action; and
  3. Develop a resiliency plan (Climate Action Plan—Phase 3) to identify adaptation strategies to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change anticipated for Lane County; and
  4. Develop Action Initiatives supporting green jobs, clean energy projects, and climate-friendly industries in Lane County; and
  5. Provide open and transparent public communications to monitor and evaluate progress toward climate action goals; and
  6. Establish a Climate Advisory Committee to provide recommendations and advise the Board of Commissioners on the County’s ongoing climate action work.

In addition, the Board acknowledged the Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change and endorsed the principles contain therein as developed by the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment. Recognizing part six of the resolution, the CAC has been formed in response.

See also

Further reading

External links

See other posts concerning