Evanston’s Environment Board will ask the City Council Monday to adopt a resolution declaring a climate emergency in the city.
A city staff memo says over 2,000 jurisdictions and local governments worldwide have adopted such declarations.
It says a movement launched in 2019 to declare such an emergency in Evanston was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed resolution calls for an immediate mobilization effort to restore climate stability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It also calls for the council to adopt implementation of the city’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan as a council goal and prioritize decisions and actions that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Council is also scheduled Monday to receive an update from city staff on CARP implementation.
That report indicates that the city achieved a record drop in emissions of 11% from 2019 to 2020 — as a result of declining gasoline usage, commercial electricity consumption natural gas use.
But that’s seen as largely a result of the impact of the pandemic and not likely to be repeated.