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11-07-2022 Climate Action Commission
Iowa City Climate Action Commission Agenda Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, 3:30 — 5:00 p.m. Emma J. Harvat Hall Iowa City City Hall 410 E. Washington St. Meeting Agenda: 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Oct. 10, 2022 minutes 4. Public Comment on items not on the Agenda -Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 3 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items. 5. Announcements —informational updates a. Action items from last meeting (Staff) b. Upcoming events (Staff) L Teen Resilience Corps kit distribution (Nov. 14-18) ii. America Recycles Day"Ask Jane+ Jen" (Nov. 19) iii. AmeriCorps team at Kirkwood STEAM event (Nov. 21-22) c. Working group updates (Staff) i. Resilience Hub Prioritization (Grimm, Hutchinson, Eynon -Lynch, Walter) d. Community Based Organization outreach (Commissioners) L Home Builders Association (Krieger), South District Neighborhood (Eynon - Lynch), NAACP, Black Voices Project (Soglin), Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition (Fraser), Lucas Farms Neighborhood (Giannokouros) 6. Unfinished/Ongoing Business: a. Goldie marketing plan —updates and discussion 7. New Business a. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding priorities —initial discussion 8. Recap a. Confirmation of next meeting time and location i. Monday, Dec. 5, 3:30-5 p.m., Emma J. Harvat Hall b. Actionable items for commission, working groups, and staff 9. Adjourn If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Sarah Gardner, Climate Action Coordinator, at 319-887-6162 or at sarah-aardner@iowa-city.ora. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. MINUTES PRELIMINARY IOWA CITY CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION OCTOBER 10, 2022 — 3:30 PM — FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVART HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Michal Eynon -Lynch, John Fraser, Stratis Giannakouros, Clarity Guerra, Kasey Hutchinson, Matt Krieger, Jesse Leckband, Becky Soglin, Matt Walter MEMBERS ABSENT: Ben Grimm, Gabriel Sturdevant STAFF PRESENT: Daniel Bissell, Sarah Gardner, Megan Hill OTHERS PRESENT: Elizabeth Wagner CALL TO ORDER: Soglin called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 MINUTES: Guerra moved to approve the minutes from September 12, 2022 with edits. Eynon -Lynch seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0 (Giannakouros not present for the vote). PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Action Items from last meeting (Staff): Commission members were invited to send any follow up questions for MidAmerican to the climate action staff. No additional questions were received. MidAmerican was also going to follow up with additional information on questions asked in the September meeting. Staff has not yet received those responses. Climate Fest Recap (Staff): • Hill reported a positive response and turnout for Climate Fest this year, which had more than 2000 participants between the in -person and online events. • 35 different community organizations collaborated with Climate Action staff on the various events. Staff received a lot of great feedback from the organizations, who reported having meaningful conversations with residents who attended. Highlights included [videos featuring recent climate action -funded community projects shown at the Big Grove event], a combined electric mileage of over 537,000 miles among the electric vehicles that participated in the EV event, $531 donated to Red Earth Gardens as part of the screening donation at Film Scene, and a large online viewership of the dance performance. Climate Action Commission October 10, 2022 Page 2 of 6 Upcoming events (Staff): • University of Iowa Solar Policy Panel (Oct. 11) • Climate Ambassador Waterworks Tour (Oct. 12) • Johnson County ADA Celebration (Oct. 15) • Growing Sustainable Cities Conference (Oct. 17-18) • Iowa City Halloween Carnival (Oct. 21) • Speaking of... Pumpkins & Presents (Oct. 31) {Giannakouros joined the meeting} Working Group Updates (Staff): • Solar Prioritization (Giannakouros, Krieger, Soglin, Sturdevant) - the memo was sent to Council and they approved those projects to move forward. • Insulation Grant Program (Guerra, Fraser, Leckband) - met and discussed the ongoing inflation grant program. • Resilience Hub Prioritization (Grimm, Hutchinson, Eynon -Lynch, Walter) - working to find a date to meet later in October. Community Based Organization outreach (Commissioners): • Home Builders Association (Krieger) — no update. • South District Neighborhood (Eynon Lynch) noted there was a lot of interest in the heat pump grant so need to get information about that grant to them (Bissell will do so). • NAACP (Soglin) had good conversation about awareness of grants • Black Voices Project (Soglin) still working to find a time to meet. • Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition (Fraser) - no update • Lucas Farms Neighborhood (Giannakouros) - no update • LULAC (Guerra) — no update Climate Action Plan: • Gardner noted the climate action plan update included several new solar projects amended into the Accelerated Action Plan following the memo sent to Council. • Kreiger asked about the engagement with the realtor community. Four Iowa City Area Association of Realtors (ICAAR) members received scholarships to attend the Green Designation training and learn about interventions to improve home efficiency. There is interest in adding a category for energy efficiency features or "High Performance Homes" to the MLS, which is in the process of being updated this year. • Guerra asked about continued engagement among Climate Ambassadors. A Climate Ambassadors newsletter was launched earlier this year to foster ongoing connection. Gardner noted that similar programs (Climate Reality Training, Master Gardeners) see challenges with sustained engagement; therefore, ongoing trainings to add people to the mix are important. Partnering with organizations, i.e. having employers like ACT host a training, is another strategy to foster ongoing engagement. • Hill noted they are continuing to work on ways to keep ambassadors involved in a Climate Action Commission October 10, 2022 Page 3 of 6 hands-on way with engagement opportunities. Eynon -Lynch suggested the Resilience Corps might have future potential projects for ambassadors. • Krieger asked about the resilience hub study by Ayman Sharif, completed in August. Staff will include it in the next agenda packet • Soglin asked about the 109 audits done by Green Iowa AmeriCorps members and the 14 gas leaks found in the process. A number of those gas leaks were external to the home, which is part of the reason that they had gone undetected, but were noted as a climate hazard. • Krieger asked for details about BR-4: energy benchmarking, and whether it would start as a voluntary program. Bissell reported that the program details are still being worked out. Gardner suggested staff would like to form that a Commission working group early 2023 to examine considerations and outcomes related to an energy benchmarking ordinance. • Krieger also asked about the sustainability forum and events. Staff hosted a small business focus group in August that included businesses that have not previously had much interaction with. Participants reported being very interested in sustainability but reported most of their actions pertained to recycling. They also identified a potential hurdle to be the disconnect between the landlord who owns the building and those who occupy the buildings in terms of accessing the TIF funding opportunities. 24/7 Initiative questions and next steps: • Gardner noted in recent City Council discussions the comments made that indicate Council members have been following the discussions the Commission has been having related to this initiative and the values placed on the thoughtful questions raised in the process. • Staff has continued to participate in the World Resource Institute cohort of cities that have been exploring this question. Most of the cities that have been participating have not yet adopted a 24/7 resolution themselves but are continuing to work through the questions. A lot of the solutions that have been brought forward in those discussions have been more applicable for communities and entities that are able to participate in a wholesale energy market, which Iowa City is unable to do. • Krieger noted a concern about possible rate increases, so it seems like additional outreach efforts should be made to all types of customers. • Soglin noted the Commission's responsibility to consider the equitable outcomes and the co -benefits of any projects and the risks. • Giannakouros reported feeling ill equipped to answer the technical questions. For example, on the gas/methane study, they had more transparent data and information on which to base a recommendation, so perhaps a consultant was needed to better understand the options related to this question as well. • Giannakouros stated when dealing with an investor -owned utility, they have proprietary information that they're not willing to disclose so it's all proxy, and it's all guesstimate. • The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will also reconfigure the industrial policy landscape of the US and change trajectories, change feasibility curves, costs, and technology adoption, so the numbers MidAmerican put forward to this Commission are going to change. • Giannakouros feels they should wait and see what Des Moines' plan will be and see what Ann Arbor's consultant comes forward with. • Krieger echoed the Inflation Reduction Act impact and noted the franchise agreement Climate Action Commission October 10, 2022 Page 4 of 6 isn't up until 2027 and wonders if they will see how the IRA is incorporated into that. If the utility is getting incentives, are they passing those incentives down as rate reductions to the customers, for example. Giannakouros stated 24/7 is an excellent idea and it's where we have to go to not be reliant on fossil fuels over the long term. On the flip side, the Commission has to decide whether they are responsible for Iowa City or All Things Climate, because 24/7 would mean the City would be demanding changes that are mostly outside the boundaries of the city. Elizabeth Wagner (Iowa Environmental Council) wanted to reiterate some of the information that the Iowa Environmental Council provided to the Commission on the topic of 24/7 CFE resolution. • In April of this year, the IPCC announced that in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global electricity production will require a nearly complete elimination of fossil fuels from generation by 2030. In response to this, the US declared a goal to reach carbon free electricity nationwide by 2035. This local 24/7 CFE resolution aligns with that policy. • A utility cannot set a city specific rate without review and approval from the Iowa Utilities Board. The final 24/7 carbon free electricity resolutions passed by both Des Moines and Waterloo did not include the mention of a franchise agreement so an Iowa City resolution would not need to include franchise agreement language in order to pursue this goal. • IEC feels Iowa city needs a clean energy goal that imagines an electric grid in 2035 that is free of fossil fuels and work must take place to capitalize on renewable energy capacity, expand energy storage, and use energy more efficiently. Krieger and Giannakouros expressed a preference to make the Accelerated Action Plan a living document that will be updated when information from the IPCC prompts new goals. The Commission discussed the 24/7. On one hand is an overall laudable goal, but there are concerns about whether it would be seen as symbolic because it doesn't necessarily push the needle in a sense beyond the City's borders. The Commission has concerns about cost and impacts and equity and the only avenue is involving the relationship with the main utility, MidAmerican Energy. Therefore, this Commission would like to wait and discuss this again in January, when they can learn more about what happens in Des Moines now that they're making a commitment and they're issuing a report. Additionally, they can find out what Ann Arbor learns from the consultant hired to investigate this question. The Commission also wants to recognize that the inflation Reduction Act is already having an impact on how they should be thinking about these things and there's just much more yet to be seen. Finally, when talking about the cost impacts, they don't feel like they have a sense of what the overall community really wants so more outreach or inquiry is needed. Gardner clarified that Ann Arbor's feasibility study would not likely be finished by January. Leckband asked if the shape of the study would be established by then, and Gardner said she would find out. Eynon -Lynch asked whether other cities already each had a Climate Action Plan as detailed as Iowa City's before they adopted or began considering the 24/7 Initiative. Gardner responded that Des Moines adopted 24/7 as part of the launch of their city's climate action plan. Stratis noted that 24/7 bears similarity to the White House's plan for a zero -emissions electricity sector by 2035. Instead of using the specific language of 24/7, Iowa City could take 4 Climate Action Commission October 10, 2022 Page 5 of 6 the information from it and chart its own course. The Commission will revisit this discussion in the January meeting, with Des Moines' plan available for study. RECAP: Confirmation of next meeting time and location: o Monday November 7, 3:30-5 p.m., Emma J. Harvat Hall Actionable items for commission, working groups, and staff o Staff will amend the minutes to note authors of the supplementary memo. o Staff will follow up with MidAmerican on questions. o Staff will include the report from Ayman Sharif in the next agenda packet. o Staff will try to find out the timeline for Ann Arbor's consultant report. ADJOURNMENT: Leckband moved to adjourn, Kreiger seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 9-0. CLIMATE ACTION COMM ISSIONATTENDANCE RECORD 2022 N N N W A C\1 O) -4_ O NAME TERM EXP. N N N N N L" N o N N N N N N N rN N N N N Michel Eynon- 12/31/2024 — NM X X X X X X NM X X X Lynch John Fraser 12/31/2024 X NM X X X X X X NM X X X Stratis X NM O/E X X X O/E NM X X Giannakouros UI Rep X Clarity Guerra 12/31/2022 — NM X X X X O/E X NM X X Ben Grimm 10/31/2023 X NM O/E X X O/E X X NM X X JO/E Grace 12/31/2021 O/E NM — — — — -- — NM — Holbrook* Megan Hill* 12/31/2022 X NM X X X X X — NM — Kasey 12/31/2022 X NM X X X X X X NM X X X Hutchinson Matt Krieger 12/31/2023 X NM X X X X O/E X NM X O/E X Jesse MidAmerican O/E NM X O/E X X X X NM X O/E X Leckband Rep Becky Soglin 12/31/2022 X NM X X X X X X NM X X X Climate Action Commission October 10, 2022 Page 6 of 6 Gabe Sturdevant 12/31/2024 — NM X X X X O/E X NM X X O/E Eric Tate` 12/31/2021 X NM — — — — NM Matt Walter 12/31/2023 — NM — — — — NM X O/E X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent 0/E = Absent/Excused NM= No Meeting * No longer on Commission w O U O C 1 U Q w O; z O U Q w Q U z Q w N N O N ti w LLI o �Z� U ioW U�� F- Q U O Q 6 4 l.' c 0 a) cu C 0 N 0 L V al Q) 3 C 0a a E m u x a, L w O L u m w I 02 _ kk )k £ © ® fq® _ z!£ 3R \ kMkN od)ƒ / /j 2%■0 - f_ ( - /�0 =|f&)=k »{)�]§ u (Q G!))m i�E�Z- ee>}Dca'a )i 2 k E]#k0(D m <0 CL )�#g)]}} 2§«Q2a]ez -IX r ƒmom ga|2 ■ - a) =� 0 , r- a) $§ \�/}i22J�0 )\ \ \}\\ »°»`-/»2 6)e#/�®§J@ °ca e »@ G )2b)Io0 Jzc_e�cl JCL - euf) k k |/ ( § k f § :2 f f J J z r CL A ) 2 ��© ■§ )�k oc k{ W °k ))m 2a a) d d C C ccU t C l0 Nm rn N U) 0) c dco d g� of xs a)Q y C N 0)N otS N 'aa co coatS N co N d d m m Q m Q d Q a°'i Q d d v1 N 2 o ❑ U ❑o 2 U 2 200 a) c d VUO 3 ]E6 O d 0 O c �_ d C❑ f2 QUw d ,... « ❑ dY U p J L (O d' 0 d x d d Q Z 3 .0 y C_ d d d w d U O w CL C Y () O m O d w O J 00 L p d U L y >CL d d C006 d d U �% lC 'V L p U 0. 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A O pO d a O w� n Q a 0 o 4 T+ 7. j c L p c 3 p . 7 ry N 10 ` T C O i 00 if Q L y c E Ti Ln a r= m ti L Z04hOO 2� 2 \1 U {/1 I..a N a ti tom aVQ WZN oaf W � (1 Jn• �r? rUOFFflVHM } LLLLLL / ,Qi 0 r �p CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: November 3, 2022 To: Climate Action Commission From: Sarah Gardner, Climate Action Commission Re: Future Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding priorities The purpose of this memo is to solicit guidance from the Climate Action Commission as to the recommended top spending priorities for the City of Iowa City under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EECBG program received $550 million to assist states, local governments, and Tribes in funding projects aimed to reduce energy usage, reduce fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency. The bulk of these funds will be distributed as formula grants that require no application or competitive scoring and that the City will receive directly from the Department of Energy. Although we do not know yet how much Iowa City will be allocated, a calculation tool developed by the World Resources Institute estimates the amount will be around $153,000.i At a minimum, the City will receive $75,000. The official allocations are expected to be announced by the end of 2022. Eligible uses for the funds include the following:" (1) Development and implementation of an energy efficiency and conservation strategy (2) Retaining technical consultant services to assist the eligible entity in the development of such a strategy, including — formulation of energy efficiency, energy conservation, and energy usage goals; identification of strategies to achieve those goals through efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption and by encouraging behavioral changes among the population served by the City • development of methods to measure progress in achieving the goals; • development and publication of annual reports to the population served by the City describing the strategies and goals, and the progress made in achieving the strategies and goals during the preceding calendar year; and • other services to assist in the implementation of the energy efficiency and conservation strategy; (3) Conducting residential and commercial building energy audits; (4) Establishment of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements; r �p CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM (5) The provision of grants to nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies for the purpose of performing energy efficiency retrofits; (6) Development and implementation of energy efficiency and conservation programs for buildings and facilities within the jurisdiction of the City, including: • design and operation of the programs; • identifying the most effective methods for achieving maximum participation and efficiency rates; • public education; • measurement and verification protocols; and • identification of energy efficient technologies; (7) Development and implementation of programs to conserve energy used in transportation, including: • use of flex time by employers; • satellite work centers; • development and promotion of zoning guidelines or requirements that promote energy efficient development; • development of infrastructure, such as bike lanes and pathways and pedestrian walkways; • synchronization of traffic signals; and • other measures that increase energy efficiency and decrease energy consumption; (8) Development and implementation of building codes and inspection services to promote building energy efficiency; (9) Application and implementation of energy distribution technologies that significantly increase energy efficiency, including: • distributed resources; and • district heating and cooling systems; (10) Activities to increase participation and efficiency rates for material conservation programs, including source reduction, recycling, and recycled content procurement programs that lead to increases in energy efficiency; (11) The purchase and implementation of technologies to reduce, capture, and, to the maximum extent practicable, use methane and other greenhouse gases generated by landfills or similar sources; (12) Replacement of traffic signals and street lighting with energy efficient lighting technologies, including: • light emitting diodes (LEDs); and r �hp CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM • any other technology of equal or greater energy efficiency; (13) Development, implementation, and installation on or in any government building of the City of onsite renewable energy technology that generates electricity from renewable resources, including: • solar energy; • wind energy; • fuel cells; and • biomass; (14) Programs for financing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and zero -emission transportation (and associated infrastructure), capital investments, projects, and programs, which may include loan programs and performance contracting programs, for leveraging of additional public and private sector funds, and programs that allow rebates, grants, or other incentives for the purchase and installation of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and zero -emission transportation (and associated infrastructure) measures; and (15) Any other appropriate activity, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In anticipation of receiving these funds, staff are requesting the Climate Action Commission review the list above, consider the different funding possibilities in light of current and ongoing Climate Action projects, and arrive at a recommendation at the December 5, 2022 meeting as to what the Commission sees as the top three priority uses for the EECGB funds. The recommendations will be recorded in the meeting minutes. No formal memo will be required. ' https://cityrenewables.org/resources/city-and-county-eecbg-¢rant-calculator-direct-formula-eecba-funding- al location-estimates-for-loca 1-governments/ " https://www. energy.gov/bi I/energy-efficiency-a nd-conservation-block-grant-progra m WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE FOR RENEWABLE GENERATION IN MIDAMERICAN'S OVERALL PORTFOLIO (INCLUDING THOSE AREAS BEYOND IOWA)? Regarding the decarbonization for MidAmerican's overall portfolio by 2025, the total company number for all three states does not make sense because Illinois has their own energy procurement process which MidAmerican does not control. Leaving aside Illinois' generation mix, the percentages shown on slide 4 of the presentation MidAmerican provided for Iowa load and Iowa allocation of renewable generation (growing from 6.1% in 2012 to 88.5% renewable energy generation in 2021) would be unchanged if MidAmerican were to include South Dakota's load and South Dakota's allocation of renewable generation. COULD MIDAMERICAN PROVIDE SOME CLARIFICATION ON THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COST ESTIMATES VERSUS THE COST SAVINGS PROJECTED IN THE SYNAPSE REPORT? The Synapse study approach differed from MidAmerican's in many ways, but in this context the key difference between that study and results MidAmerican presented is that the Synapse study does not ensure renewable or zero -carbon coverage of load in every hour. It allows grid energy from an unknown source to cover the City's load. Other key considerations related to the Synapse report include: • The report improperly assumes that there is now, and will continue to be, sufficient energy and capacity available for purchase from other entities at all possible times throughout the year; the recent resource adequacy concerns in MISO highlight how incorrect this assumption is • Because of this assumption, the report ignores the need to maintain today's high reliability through the entire resource transition and after the transition occurs for a future presumably envisioned by the based on solar wind and storage; Several national and regional independent reliability organizations have highlighted the reliability implications of relying on non-dispatchable resources with no on -site fuel supply • Without flexible generation resource options, the grid will become more susceptible to natural disasters • The report's energy storage assumptions are insufficient to respond to severe weather events, like the February 2021 winter storm; Specifically, the report assumes a 4-hour, 750 MW battery (3,000 MW-Hr), which is the minimum duration for MISO accreditation but a battery of this size is woefully inadequate to address the multi -day impact of an event like the February 2021 winter storm; this is an important aspect for storage needed for reliability because duration of storage in MWh, rather than storage size in MW can significantly increase the cost of storage in a high renewable/storage strategy • The report also fails to consider the needs of other generation joint owners, including Iowa municipal utilities and electric cooperatives • The report also fails to fully quantify the costs of retiring coal generation; Industry standards would require capture of all retirement costs by treating the remaining book life value of the facility as a regulatory asset The utility industry has recently experienced a number of developments supporting MidAmerican's position including: • MISO's planning resource auction for the 2022-2023 planning year resulted in inadequate supply to meet demand; A key reason is early shut -down of coal resources before adequate replacements are built • Several national and regional independent reliability organizations have issued new reports highlighting the reliability implications of relying on non-dispatchable resources with no on -site fuel supply; The recent reports discussed early retirement of coal resources as a reason for increased reliability concerns • Several Midwest utilities have announced delays of planned coal generation retirements in response to the tightening capacity margins and reflecting increased awareness of reliability concerns; Some of the utilities announcing delays include Alliant Energy, Omaha Public Power District, WE Energy (in Wisconsin) and NIPSCO (in Indiana) • MISO has initiated a new study of "resource attributes" to begin to address such national and regional reliability concerns COMMUNITY CLIMATE RESILIENCE HUBS The Core of Community -Driven Climate Resilience Action =ohm=, Resilience Hubs Study Final Report Prepared by: Ayman Sharif A&W Sustainable Planning and Outreach LLC June 25,2022 Resilience Hubs: The Core of Community -Driven Climate Resilience Action Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................3 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................3 2. Method..........................................................................................................................5 3. Research behind community -driven climate action.........................................................5 A brief history of climate action......................................................................................................5 Community -driven climate resilience planning................................................................................6 Resilience hubs as a building block for a community -driven climate action......................................7 The participation of community -based organizations and nonprofits...............................................8 4. Direct research: outreach and engagement....................................................................9 S. Elaboration and Conclusion..........................................................................................10 Resilience hubs connect climate change adaptation and social justice...........................................10 Residents are key stakeholders in climate action..........................................................................10 Novel community outreach and engagement is essential..............................................................11 Resilience hubs help create equitable economic development......................................................13 6. Recommendations........................................................................................................14 2 Abstract In the past two decades, an increasing number of cities and counties across the United States have developed climate action plans to reduce current and predicted climate change impacts. The concept of "resilience hubs" has been adopted in several communities as a community -based strategy that combines climate adaptation and mitigation with strategies to improve community resilience and sustainability by incorporating the issues of social equity and racial justice in climate action planning. While strategies of mitigation and adaptation have been greatly developed, more work is needed to understand approaches that include equity and justice in climate action. The concept of resilience hubs provides the opportunity to combine climate adaptation with strategies that address social inequities and injustices which are widely accepted as exacerbators of climate vulnerability. Community groups with highest vulnerability to climate impact should play key roles as resilience transitions from the focus on physical and technical adaptation into more community - driven approaches. Resilience hubs can facilitate novel and place -based outreach and engagement strategies to link vulnerable groups with the climate action decision -making processes. Planning and operating resilience hubs requires skillful and talented leadership headed by community -based organizations. Because vulnerable groups organizations often lack resources and skills to achieve their intended visions, efforts to assess the needs of these organizations and provision of supporting resources will optimize the performance of resilience hubs. Resilience hubs strengthen the capacity of vulnerable groups by providing access to vital services needed during shocks such as severe climate events, but they play a more important role to reduce long-term stressors and eradicate poverty as major contributors to climate vulnerability. Populations in poverty have a very difficult time absorbing and recovering from climate impact and need assistance much more immediately than other groups. That means the more poverty that exists in a community, the less resilient that community becomes in the face of both perceived and unpredicted challenges. i. Introduction This report aims to encourage thinking and actions around resilience hubs as a novel approach to community -based climate action while addressing the issues of social equity and racial justice as we prepare for the future impacts of climate change. While an increasing number of cities and counties in the United States adopted climate action plans during the past decade, the focus has been on climate mitigation and physical adaptation, and limited attention has been given to social inequities and racial injustices as major contributors of community vulnerability. Climate change continues to be a key concern while global temperature continues to rise fast to the 1.5°C thresholds as per the alarming statement of the UN Secretary -General on the IPCC recent assessment naming it a "Code Red for Humanity"'. While climate change is a global issue, local communities continue to feel its effects, especially during this era of growing urbanization and the associated challenges such as aging infrastructure, troubled economies, energy problems, rising food costs, and the myriad range of issues resulting from inequalities and injustices. These challenges make it much more difficult for urban settlements to resist and recover from climate -change -related events. Urban resilience has gained significant attention during the past few decades driven largely by the high cost of disasters and global climate concerns leading to the adoption of a global resilience agenda as evidenced in the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals and efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). While cities across the United States are taking the lead in planning for resilience and thrivability, community -driven climate action is gaining attention as an approach to include social justice and equity in climate action. The concept of resilience hubs emerges as community -led effort to reduce climate vulnerability and combine plans of climate mitigation and adaptation with schemes to improve social well-being and community cohesiveness. Iowa City emphasizes the need to advance social justice, community engagement, and demonstration of leadership in climate action. While more U.S. communities are considering climate action with equity lenses, strategies to operationalize social equity and justice are still developing. Further, Iowa City has included the concept of resilience hubs in the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), as an action that is yet to be tapped and expanded. This report aims to present ideas on resilience hubs in the context of community -driven climate planning that increases community participation in climate action processes. It also aims to highlight resilience hubs as an active community resource to increase physical adaptation while strengthening community leadership, engaging vulnerable groups, and addressing poverty as a significant source of climate vulnerability. t tIN Secretary -General's statement on the IPCC Working Group I Report on the Physical Science Basis of the Sixth Assessment, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/secretary-generals-statement-the-ipcc-working-group-l-report- the-physical-science-basis-of-the-sixth-assessment n 2. Method This report presents observations drawn from a variety of sources including urban planning, urban resilience, community -driven climate resilience, human geography, environmental policy, public health, climate adaptation, and sustainability. It also adds observations developed from a community focus group discussion and several meetings with community members representing community organizations, academic institutions, and community service providers. 3. Research behind community -driven climate action A brief history of climate action • Climate change became a major policymaking and planning concern during the first decade of this millennium when, for the first time, more than half of the global population became urbanized. This percentage is projected to reach 60% of the global population by 20301. Number of people living in urban and rural areas, World 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 500 millbn pppulellon aoWu,wn 0. 1960 1870 1980 1990 2000 2010 2017 Swrce. Wont Banx pasoO on Eeta Imn� IM UN V Wubaon qv®ian QnNbnpinCale.ory�urpaniiNion CC 9v Nole: VNan poONal�onf aro pellnep Eaen] on IM1e tlelmnbn of urCen vone M1y rmlbrol51a11fINul oMbea. Figure I - Source: Our World in Data httos:lloumorldindata.ore/3 • Globalization and rapid technological advances connected the world as never before and led to global economic and political changes with negative consequences including armed conflicts, immigration and mass displacement of people groups, global pandemic diseases, and disruptions to the global food, energy, transportation, and health systems. • Early effort to address climate change was focused on mitigation and GHG emissions reduction and sequestering'. The Cities for Climate Protection Program (CCP) and the 2 UN the World Cities in 2018 Data Booklet, https://www.un. org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/fiies/files/documents/2020/Jan/un _2018_worldc ities_databooklet.pdf 'Our World in Data, https:Hourworldindata.org/urbanization#number-of-people-living-in-urban-areas 4 Meerow S and Woodruff C. (2019). Seven Principles of Strong Climate Change Planning, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10. I 080/01944363.2019.1652108?i oumalCode=ripa20 International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI) promoted a framework for cities to include establishing baseline GHG emissions inventory, adopting reduction targets, developing climate action plans (CAP), implementing and monitoring progress. In 2008 Iowa City joined the program and in 2009, the city became the first city in Iowa to complete a community wide GHG inventory5. • Adaptation has focused on adjusting to actual or expected climate impact considering vulnerability to extreme climate patterns and their consequences. This is promoted by initiatives such as Making Cities Resilient 2030 from the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction in 20106. An increasing number of cities and counties across the United States have adopted and implemented climate adaptation plans since the beginning of the last decade'. • A broader climate resilience agenda has evolved in recent years with a focus on enhancing the ability of communities to cope with climate shocks and stressors by addressing the issues of racial justice and social equity'. This has been driven by a global consensus as evidenced in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate poverty and hunger, and improve education, health, economics, equality, and quality of life. • Consistent with this agenda, community -driven climate resilience planning has emerged as a transformative approach that calls for active community participation by focusing on vulnerability that results from historic injustices as conditions to exacerbate climate vulnerability'. It is important, therefore, to focus on building the capacity of vulnerable communities to assess vulnerabilities, share resilience priorities, and build community voice and power10. Community -driven climate resilience planning The concept of climate resilience hubs provides a unique opportunity combine strategies of climate mitigation/adaptation and preparedness while addressing the underlying sources of climate vulnerabilities. 5 Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 6 UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: MCR2030, https://mcr203O.undff.org/ ' Meerow S and WoodruffC. (2019). Seven Principles of Strong Climate Change Planning, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10. 1080/01944363.2019.1652108?j oumalCode=ripa20 ' Meerow S and Woodruff C. (2019). Seven Principles of Strong Climate Change Planning, htti)s://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/I 0. 1080/01944363.2019.1652108?qoumalCode=ripa2O ' Amekudzi-Kennedy, A., Labi, S., Woodall, B., Marsden, G., Grubert, E. (2020). Role of Socially -Equitable Economic Development in Creating Resilient and Sustainable Systems: COVID-19-Related Reflections. (doi: 10.20944/preprints202004.0336.vl). IU The National Association of Climate Resilience Planners, Community -Driven Climate Resilience Planning: A Framework, https://www.nacrp.org/ m The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) describes the concept of resilience hubs as a mechanism to enhance the capacity of vulnerable community groups to become active contributors in the input processes of development as well as in the decision -making processes that affect the urban response to climate change. Community resilience is enhanced when vulnerable groups optimize the use of community physical spaces and assets as resilience hubs to enhance individual and community capacity to respond to climate events, while offering year -around programs and services to address stressors such as poverty, unemployment, poor housing conditions, lack of access to proper health services I I. Hubs can be neighborhood centers, recreation facilities, public buildings, apartment complexes, places of faith, or any of the places that people feel safe and frequently use. Resilience hubs as a building block for a community -driven climate action Community -driven climate action emerges as an essential approach to address issues of social equalities and justice. The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) points to inequalities that shape the American society as key factors of climate vulnerability —as illustrated in Figure 2— leading to a range of impacts from large-scale disasters, such as Superstorm Sandy and COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately affecting low-income and underrepresented population. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012 68% of renters making claims to FEMA were devastated low-income renters12. Figure 2 — Source: USDN- Guide to LANGUAGE Equitable BARRIERS • Com+nunity- Driven HEALTH OCCUPATION • Adapted from Bay Localize RACISM • INCOME LIVING CONDITIONS AGE LOCATION URBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS NETWORK 11 Baja, K. (2018). Resilience Hubs; Shifting Power to Communities and Increase Community Capacity. https://www.usdn.org/uploads/cms/documents/usdn—resiliencehubs 2018.pdf 12 USDN Guide to Equitable, Community -Driven Climate Preparedness Planning (2017) p.10 7 Climate Preparedness Planning (20/7) The city of Baltimore, Maryland recently created a system of resilience hubs and partnered with local community organizations and businesses to enhance and use local resources to provide essential community support. There are fifteen resilience hubs in the program. Grants from the City of Baltimore and Maryland Energy Administration were used in the program to provide resilience hubs with solar power and battery -backup capabilities. This gives everyone in the community somewhere safe to go in an emergency, increases access to renewable energy and reduces utility cost while providing training and workforce development opportunities13. o +,..n.� ._... , As part of the Baltimore's sustainability „ effort, resilience hubs host training programs led by government agencies such as the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Office of Emergency Management, and the City Health Department while also creating a core team of partners made up of community clean energy nonprofits, solar energy businesses, government departments, and community organizations 14. Figure 3 - Baltimore Resilience Hubs, Source Baltimore Office ofSustainability The participation of community -based organizations and nonprofits Community -based organizations and nonprofits have a long history advocacy and service provision, particularly for underserved and underrepresented groups. The demand for the services of these community organizations increases greatly during difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, especially because vulnerable groups need immediate access to government services and benefits. It is often that community -based organizations representing vulnerable and underserved groups lack the resources and knowledge to build their organizational capacity which adds to the challenges to effectively establish and operate resilience hubs. The UI Lamed A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center (INRC) conducted a statewide survey in 2010 aimed to assess the needs of Iowa nonprofits to build capacity which resulted in 13 Baltimore Office of Sustainability, https://www.baltimoresustainability.org/baltimore-resiliency-hub-program/ 14 Baltimore Office of Sustainability, https://www.baltimoresustainability.org/baltimore-resiliency-hub-program producing the Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence guide 15. This guide and other building capacity sources are important to assess and improve the capacity of vulnerable groups to create effective resilience hubs. 4. Direct research: outreach and engagement The report covers the effort to engage the public in Iowa City to increase awareness about resilience hubs and Iowa City climate action and to solicit information from vulnerable groups about the perception of vulnerability and how it is related to climate impact. Outreach efforts for this report included an educational booth during the Iowa City Climate Festival in February 2022 and a focus group discussion coordinated with the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa. The exercise invited affiliates of the Center for Worker Justice, many of them are low and moderate -income families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, and representatives from different sectors and professions to include local government, community leaders, economic development, and academic institutions. AWSPO published an op-ed about resilience hubs in Press -Citizen. The focus group discussion was inspired by the Shared Learning Dialogue (SLD) approach developed by the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition. The goal was to initiate a conversation that include community vulnerable groups and experts from various related backgrounds. Figure 4CWJ Resilience Hubs Discussion by A&W sustainable Planning and Outreach The participants commented that the exercise was useful to highlight the connections between climate change and daily life struggles and that the session was very eye-opening. Participating u Schartz H., Smith JD., Klein D. (2011). Meeting the Technical Assistance and Training Needs of Iowa Nonprofits: An Evaluation Report for the Lamed A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center, https:Hinrc.law.uiowa.edu/sites/inrc.law.uiowa.edu/files/techneeds-survey_results_ 12-22-1 l.pdf 0 experts also commented that the discussion was an experience that expanded learning through the exchange of knowledge and information. Attendees represented only a sample of the vulnerable population in Iowa City, Nevertheless, the discussion offered the opportunity to observe the power of having the vulnerable groups contribute their views. 5. Elaboration and Conclusion Resilience hubs connect climate change adaptation and social justice Iowa City has made it a priority to advance social justice and racial equity as expressed in the 2021-22 Strategic Plan. This goal is further expressed in the climate action document that affirmed the determination to "use a lens of equity to frame issues, identify strategies, actions, and measures of success, and to evaluate impact" 16. The CAAP in its Implementation section points to the struggle of the equity subcommittee to create a wide variety of representation in the equity review team17. Historic injustices and past unequal distribution of power are known to be the grounds for the wealth and power gaps that feed increasing inequalities. To avoid this, there is a need to create new and effective engagement strategies and methods. It is also important to continue working to create the equity tool kit that will recognize the historic causes of social and economic gaps and promote participation of underrepresented groups as important equity dimensions18. Achieving the goal of justice and equity requires criteria and metric of measurement that are developed through an inclusive community participation process. When actively implemented, resilience hubs can be a source of recruitment that enhances the community's broad representation in the equity review team and the development and implementation of justice and equity criteria in climate action. Residents are key stakeholders in climate action While top -down strategies continue to be the dominant practices in urban planning and policymaking, participatory planning and knowledge co -production are increasingly valued for the vital role they play in social justice and sustainability". 16 Accelerating Iowa City Climate Action (2020) https://www8.iowa- city.org/WebLink/O/edoc/I944166/ 100%20Day°/"20Report%20-%20approved%20April%202020.pdf 17Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, https://www8.iowa- city.org/weblink/0/edoc/I803121 /Climate°/"20Action%20Plan.pdf 18 Meerow, S., Pajouhesh P, Miller ThaddeusR. (2019). Social equity in urban resilience planning, Local Environment, 24:9, 793-808, DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2019.1645103 19 Ziervogel, G., Cowen, A., & Ziniades, J. (2016). Moving from Adaptive to Transformative Capacity: Building Foundations for Inclusive, Thriving, and Regenerative Urban Settlements. Sustainability, 8(9), 955. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8090955 10 When CO2 emission related to community is added up (residential, transportation, and waste), the sum becomes a significant percentage which makes the focus on community engagement a reasonable strategy. O E w m c 0 w E N U U 0 industerial Iowa City CO2 Emission commercial Figure 5Iowa City C01 Distribution, Source: IC CARP 1018 14 394 Community related (residential, transportation, waste) UI Power Plant The Key Stakeholder Initiative Statement of the Accelerating Iowa City Climate Actions Report has identified the key stakeholders in the City's climate action. This statement presents an opportunity to express the community as the key climate action stakeholder which provides a solid foundation for resilience hubs and other community -driven initiatives. Novel community outreach and engagement is essential Strengthening community engagement and demonstrating ongoing leadership in climate action are fundamental values of the City's overall strategy. There is a need to specify methods to engage marginalized groups and incorporate their climate concerns to improve their contribution and input. Taking the income of respondents in the 2018 plan's survey as an illustration, less than 30% of participants were from groups whose income is 11 below the area median household income. In addition, race showed disproportionate responses from races generally associated with vulnerable groups (Figures 5,6). Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptaion Plan 2018 Survey Respondents' Income ■ Income below 50,000 a Income above 50,000 • Others Figure 61owa City CRAP 2018: Survey Response Income: Source IC CRAP 2018 Iowa City CAAP 2018 Survey Response by Race ■ White ■ Asian ■ Black or Africna-American Hispanic or Latino ■ Native American or Alaskan Native ■ From multiple races ■ Others Figure 71owa City CRAP 2018: Survey Response Race. Source IC CAAP2018 Iowa City can benefit from a policy targeted at exploring novel engagement strategies that involve vulnerable neighborhoods with the intention to broaden participation in climate action. 12 Resilience hubs help create equitable economic development Low-income status and lack of assets are characteristic of vulnerability that is exacerbated by climate change20. Resilience hubs can potentially contribute to a socially equitable economic development and reduce economic disparity. By offering programs that prepare vulnerable groups to do well economically, resilience hubs maximize community contributions in the input and processes of economic development, which in turn creates higher levels of community resilience21. Targeted community -led programs for early school preparedness, school education support, job training, and business incubation are examples of resilience of the programs that can prepare and empower vulnerable communities to effectively participate in the development processes. A recent survey conducted by Astig Planning explored the barriers facing existing and emerging businesses from historically underrepresented groups to inform Johnson County's inclusive economic development. The survey highlights challenges that face these businesses including financial support, technical skills and mentoring, and government and support. Resilience hubs can be activated as community resources where these services are explored, provided, and coordinated. C-EM Oneoncne Mentorship Access to Community Commercial Kitchen Z�S Classes an startups and online/ c skills &P., Consolidated Information on permits in multiple languages Affordable Spaces C?� Low interest loans, with no payback for first year More community` • • • grants with `� IIII�1! 1111 supportive 11 banks Communities e Street Vending Opportunity Solutions and Opportunities Figure 8Inclusive Economic Development Solution. Source: Astig Planning: Inclusive Economic Development Survey 20 Hughes, S. (2013). Justice in Urban Climate Change Adaptation: Criteria and Application to Delhi. Ecology and Society, 18(4). http://www.jstor.org/stable/26269417 21 Amekudzi-Kennedy, A., Labi, S., Woodall, B., Marsden, G., Grubert, E. (2020). Role of Socially -Equitable Economic Development in Creating Resilient and Sustainable Systems: COVID-19-Related Reflections. (doi: 10.20944/preprints202004.0336.vl ). 13 6. Recommendations Based on the discussion and conclusions above, the report recommends that Iowa City continues its leadership in climate change action and social justice with the following steps: 1. Consider amending CAAP "Key Stakeholders Statement" to reflect the community as the key stakeholder in climate action. Demonstrating the community as the highest stakeholder is consistent with the goals of Iowa City's Strategic Plan. It enables resilience hubs and other community -led efforts to stand on firm ground and invite the community's engagement in climate action. 2. In conjunction with the above, Iowa City needs to invent a community outreach and engagement tool kit with special consideration for connecting traditionally underserved groups. Resilience hubs can be the clusters to develop and improve this toolkit and supply the strategies that work for all community groups. 3. Resilience hubs as an emerging concept requires further understanding and awareness that can be achieved by adding more details about the types of adaptation and equity solutions to be the focus of resilience hubs in the CAAP. 4. Iowa City's climate action may consider steps to support community -based organizations which would take the lead in resilience hubs by: a. Creating and funding a survey to assess the community organizations that support vulnerable populations (low-income, immigrants, minority ethnic groups) to assess their needs. b. Support the provision of training and technical support to build the capacity of community organizations for vulnerable groups. 5. Iowa City climate action may explore and furnish equity and justice criteria and metrics to be included in the planning documents as a guide for equitable and justice climate actions. 6. Further in-depth study will provide a comprehensive understanding of the multiple roles to be taken by resilience hubs and areas of focus to build the city's resilience hubs around. 14 Table of Figures Figure 1 - Source: Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/................................................................................ 5 Figure 2 — Source: USDN -Guide to Equitable Community -Driven Climate Preparedness Planning (2017) .............. 7 Figure 3 - Baltimore Resilience Hubs, Source Baltimore Office of Sustainability....................................................... 8 Figure 7CW7 Resilience Hubs Discussion by A&W sustainable Planning and Outreach ............................................ 9 Figure 4 Iowa City CO2 Distribution, Source: IC CAAP 2018.... Figure 5 Iowa City CAAP 2018: Survey Response Income: Source IC CAAP 2018................................................. 12 Figure 6 Iowa City CAAP 2018: Survey Response Race: Source IC CAAP2018...................................................... 12 Figure 8 Inclusive Economic Development Solution. Source: Astig Planning: Inclusive Economic Development Survey.......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 15