Please join us for the launch of the 2021 Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region. The agenda for the event is located here.

On July 13 at noon, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will launch one of the first regional climate plans in the United States. This plan is the result of nearly two years of work involving 175 organizations, 270 stakeholders, and drawn from more than 50 local and international sustainability and climate plans.

This plan calls all municipal leaders to action. It was developed with support from the European Union and is aligned with the Global Covenant of Mayors and the Greenest Region Compact. The plan distills climate science, a regional greenhouse inventory, a regional climate risk and vulnerability assessment into sensible and critical strategies to guide effective municipal action to both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to impacts of our changing climate. Municipalities have the unique ability to lead in making impactful changes in their own operations; to encourage others to take effective climate action; and to enact policies that will reduce greenhouse emissions and build resilient communities.

This is the decisive decade for climate action. Climate change threatens every aspect of our well-being – from our public health, infrastructure and natural resources, to our agriculture, transportation, and economy – and the impacts of a changing climate are experienced by all communities. No single community can solve these issues on its own, and not all communities face the same level of challenge. Action to mitigate the root causes of climate change through emissions reductions and to adapt to the effects of climate change must be taken at both a scale and speed that can only be accomplished through local, regional, and international collaboration.

Please join us for the launch of this timely Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region to learn about the critical municipal role.

Date: Tuesday, July 13
Time: Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Registration: Registration is free but required. https://www.metroplanning.org/events/virtual/detail/578
Event host: The virtual event is generously hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council.
Speakers:

  • Eero Ailio, Advisor Energy Transition and Local Governance, European Commission
  • MarySue Barrett, President, Metropolitan Planning Council
  • Kevin Burns, Mayor, City of Geneva, Illinois, and Chairman, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Environment Committee and Energy Subcommittee
  • Sean Casten, U.S. Congressman, 6th Congressional District
  • Maya Dutta,  Sustainability Coordinator, City of Waukegan
  • Bill Foster, U.S. Congressman, 11th Congressional District
  • Ned Gardiner, Engagement Manager, U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, NOAA Climate Program Office (Contractor), CollabraLink Technologies
  • Don Graves, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce
  • Lori Lightfoot, Mayor, City of Chicago
  • Edith Makra, Director of Environmental Initiatives, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
  • Alex Minnella, Senior Planner, City of Aurora
  • Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
  • Kim Stone, Councilwoman, City of Highland Park

Preview the 2021 Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region or the Summary Document.

Thank you to the many organizations and individuals that contributed to the creation of this essential plan.  We invite all municipal leaders to join us in realizing the goals and objectives of the plan – thriving, cohesive and resilient communities.