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With the local city council election in November, those candidates for the Flagstaff City Council who will appear on the ballot have been given the chance to answer a weekly question in no more than 150 words.

This week’s question: What do you think about the status of the Carbon Neutrality Plan and its predecessor, the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan?

Council

David Spence

The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) was adopted in 2018 after extensive community input with the assistance of expert consultants. I strongly supported this plan. Then, after a massive climate strike in front of City Hall, the Council made a Climate Emergency Declaration on June 23, 2020. This set in motion the revision of CAAP into the Carbon Neutrality Plan (CNP) which was adopted December, 2022; replacing the CAAP as the guiding light for Flagstaff’s climate action.

Credit is due to the Sustainability Staff and to the Council for this living document. It calls for an annual report of Flagstaff’s greenhouse gas emissions, which will show how we are progressing toward the goal of “carbon neutrality by 2030�.

My focus as a Councilman will be on the CNP Implementation Strategy (page 55). That is, the funding mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by individuals, businesses and governments.

Dennis Givens

The Carbon Neutrality Plan guides the City of Flagstaff’s approach on climate action. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. To do so, we need to reduce greenhouse emissions by 44%. Through mitigation and adaptation, the city wants to prepare communities, systems, and resources to be more resilient to climate change impacts such as wildfires, flooding, and drought. The plan intends to address climate change in a manner that prioritizes those most impacted and ensure the costs and benefits are equitably distributed. The path to carbon neutrality will require leadership, bold action, perseverance and creativity. Residents can contribute through home energy retrofits, joining neighborhood clean-ups, and educating their neighbors about climate change. The Carbon Neutrality Plan will cost the taxpayers roughly half a billion dollars over the next six years. We as decision makers need to make sure combating climate change doesn’t bankrupt the city of Flagstaff.

Miranda Sweet

I support the Carbon Neutrality Plan and appreciate the work of city staff in helping our community move the needle. What I appreciate most in the CNP are the efforts that touch all of our top priorities in Flagstaff. The Accessory Dwelling Unit Project tackles both our climate and housing emergencies. Our 3 community- led resilience hubs will increase emergency preparedness through safe heating, cooling, and clean-air centers. The city is working on introducing more E-bikes into the community. We are increasing our EV charging infrastructure, and working to enhance our home retrofits program. These are just a few things that the CNP continues to tackle in addressing our declared emergency. There is a delicate balance in aligning all of the goals throughout Flagstaff along with the goals of the CNP. Although the goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 is aspirational, we need to keep pushing for success through aligning our priorities and community needs with the CNP.

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Given the dramatic increase in temperatures globally, anyone who is paying the slightest bit attention to what is happening must be concerned with climate change. Every community must do its part to act and demonstrate leadership in combatting climate change. Flagstaff is no exception, and the council has approved an ambitious climate action plan—enunciating a “climate emergency�. If I have a concern, it is that the city’s plan is not aggressive or ambitious enough. Will the city actually meet the stated goal of being carbon neutral by 2030? It too often feels that the city in general is engaged in business as usual with respect to climate action. For example, why was a new city courthouse built without solar panels? Why are not electric charging stations deployed throughout the city? The current plan may rely too much on “carbon removal� strategies rather than direct carbon reductions.

Amethyst Deasy

It is my opinion regarding the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan that although progress has been made, we are far from being on track to meet our goals outlined within the plan. I’d like to see greater transparency in the progress of the plan, more accountability to upholding the plan in new developments as well as more action to remove any city funds from the fossil fuel industry. Right now, the city is financing the fossil fuel industry through Wells Fargo, and I think it is counterintuitive to our goals, and quite honestly underhanded, that we invest in fossil fuels with Flagstaff taxpayer money and then spend more Flagstaff taxpayer money to undo what the fossil fuel industry is doing.

Anthony Garcia

Growing up here in Flagstaff I’ve experienced firsthand how our climate has changed and witnessed its ecological impacts. As an adolescent, I remember there being snowpack on the ground, to some extent, from mid-November through March. Now, our snowfall seems to melt away within a few days. Also, throughout the 80’s, it was very unusual to see rainfall in the winter. Now it’s a regular occurrence to see rain during a snowstorm in January.

In 2019 I became Climate Ambassador for the City of Flagstaff. In this role my goal is to help educate our community about how we can do more with less. A practical approach to reducing personal energy consumption, lessening municipal solid waste, increasing bicycle/pedestrian and public transportation practices are actionable first steps to reach local carbon neutrality.

Infusing sustainability into the foundation of every department within the city will help us achieve our 2030 goals, holistically.

Mayor

Becky Daggett

I support the Carbon Neutrality Plan (CNP)—which replaced the CAAP� for several reasons, including the positive impacts that ensuring clean air and water, reduced energy use, increased safety of walking/biking, new jobs, and healthy forests will have on our community. Flagstaff is on its way to meeting its residential CNP solar goals, thanks to the nearly 1,000 residents who’ve installed solar. We’ve met our goal of powering city buildings with clean energy. The estimate to implement the CNP is $600M, and one part of the analysis that doesn’t get as much attention is the estimated positive financial impact, calculated to be $621M through savings and additional revenue, for a net positive of $21M. This implementation estimate also doesn’t account for the costs of not addressing air quality, energy efficiency, pedestrian safety, etc. There’s significant work to do and I encourage readers to reach out to the city’s sustainability office.