County Rejoins Joint Climate Committee

Solar panels. CC0 Creative Commons. Photo from pixabay.

A joint-government task force focused on climate and green energy projects will be reconstituted.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Thursday to rejoin the City-County Task Force on Climate Change and Economic Equity.

It was originally created in 2019 and members worked for approximately two years developing a plan for responding to climate change and supporting racial economic equity in a new green economy. Later, Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic successfully sponsored a resolution reforming the task force as an advisory board to ensure the government agencies work toward the goals outlined in the plan.

Following suit, Sup. Anne O’Connor sponsored a resolution to have the county rejoin. After the board’s vote, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley released a statement with O’Connor thanking supervisors for approving the measure.

“The newly-created City-County Advisory Board on Climate and Economic Equity will help local leaders make informed decisions to guide our shared efforts in building a climate-resilient and environmentally responsible future that delivers economic prosperity for working families,” Crowley stated.

The advisory board will include elected officials and government employees from both the city and the county, as well as representatives from a number of local organizations working on climate or economic equity including Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Climate Table, Sierra Club, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, Milwaukee NAACP, Milwaukee Area Labor Council and Clean Wisconsin.

“By continuing the collaborative work of the Task Force, we are ensuring that Milwaukee County remains on track to meet its climate goals while uplifting communities through green jobs and equitable solutions,” O’Connor said in a statement.

The plan created by the task force included several “big ideas” that are particularly suited to the county’s operations, including projects expanding public transportation options or protecting natural areas. The county runs the largest mass transit company in the region through the Milwaukee County Transit System and Milwaukee County Parks manages more than 10,000 acres, much of it natural areas.

The county is also working toward its own climate goals for the government, which include carbon-neutrality by 2050. County officials have been working on a plan for the government to meet that goal and it’s expected to be finished this spring. Officials estimate the county has already cut government emissions by 48% since 2005.

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