Sonoma just adopted climate strategies. What are they?

The Sonoma City Council unanimously adopted its first ever climate action strategies Wednesday to reduce emissions and help Sonoma meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.

The climate action strategies, proposed by the Climate Action Commission, aim to expand the city’s tree canopy, create a master plan for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and increase the capacity for electric vehicles and public transportation.

“We're at the stage now with climate where, yes, we want to mitigate the effects, but we're actually at the stage we have to think about what is happening, what's potentially going to happen and what's threatening us,” Vice Mayor Patricia Farrar-Rivas said.

The newly-adopted climate action plan calls for a “three-prong strategy”: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and buildings, enhance solar energy capacity in Sonoma and improve carbon sequestration. In addition, the plan calls for Sonoma to increase its resiliency against natural disasters in a “rapidly warming climate.”

Climate Action Strategies adopted by Sonoma City Council

Kendall Clemons, a junior at Sonoma Valley High School and president of the Earth Club, highlighted the importance of climate action to Sonoma Valley’s youth, saying there has been a “lack of action” from the city of Sonoma to address climate change for future generations.

“Last year, I talked to over 75 students at my high school about climate change and what's going on in city of Sonoma. Out of the 75 students almost every single one of them experienced climate anxiety,” Clemons said. “I'm scared of what our world might look like for future generations.”

While there is no immediate action on these items, chair of the Climate Action Commission Dr. David Morell said the commission will bring proposals to the council to fund and implement. But Morell said he is not going to wait on the council, either.

“We're not only going to be relying on city actions,” Morell said. “We have 10,000 actors called citizens, and we're going to be doing extensive public outreach citizen involvement so that they take the brunt of the actions that are needed.”

He added that he will be seeking state and federal grants to plant trees in Sonoma and discuss implementation in a joint-session of the Planning Commission, the Climate Action Commission and the Parks, Recreation & Open Space Commission on Jan. 23.

Council member Sandra Lowe, speaking for the trees, alluded to the tree canopy in Sacramento that provides shade and heat relief for the city’s residents during increasingly warm summers. Planting more trees on Sonoma’s west side could provide the similar shade relief, she said.

“I especially would like to see them in places where it's hot,” Lowe said, “and that is the west side of town going down West Napa Street.”

The public will have an opportunity to share their opinions on climate action strategies as part of a wide-ranging discussion of the city’s General Plan on Jan. 29 at the Sonoma Community Center. This discussion will influence the city’s plans for the next 20 to 30 years.

“We're interested in climate action,” Morell said. “We love to have a plan and we intend to bring you action items one after another.”

Chase Hunter covers the Sonoma city government, environmental issues, public health, crime, agriculture, housing and homelessness. Contact the reporter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com or on their personal website chasehunterb.weebly.com