Leaders from Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties assembled in Novato on Thursday to begin setting the stage for a regional approach to climate change — one that Edward Quevedo of the California-based Foresight+Innovation Lab said he thought has the potential to resonate throughout the world.
“From this place today we have a chance to create resonance,” Quevedo said to the crowd of nearly 100 officials gathered in the Buck Institute on Aging. “A reverberating sound and set of actions that people around the world will study 25 to 30 years hence and say, ‘What did they do in Novato on the 20th of September 2018 that led to this remarkable regional partnership that led the way for the world?’ ”
Novato Mayor Joshua Fryday said while the North Bay would not solve every issue in that single day, he said the summit is an opportunity to learn what works in other communities, to ask hard questions and develop relationships to build off of.
“We have no option: our communities are counting on us to succeed and succeed together,” Fryday said to the attendees.
Following the initial speeches, attendees were able to break off to attend two of three workshops focusing on different aspects of climate change.
One workshop focused on transportation and mobility to discuss changes to city vehicle fleets, public transit systems and working conditions. Another workshop tackled carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture. Discussions on carbon-free cities, renewable energy, zero-energy buildings and other topics were discussed at a ‘Built Environment & Energy’ workshop.
The workshops were facilitated by Quevedo, Robert Gould of the Marin Climate Action Network and Aleka Seville of the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority.
Quevedo said from these discussions, a common line is drawn that can act as a starting point for future efforts.
The summit was both a follow-up to the Global Climate Summit held in San Francisco last week and also a reaction to what many see as a rollback of environmental protections by the federal government.
Congressman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, was the keynote speaker at Thursday’s summit, but said most of what he had to talk about was bleak. From pulling the U.S. out of the 2016 Paris Climate Accord to as recently as rolling back methane emission rules on industries this week, the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine and censor discussion and policies on climate change underscores the need for local action, Huffman said.
“The biggest problem I have to report from Washington is that all these fights mean we’re losing time,” Huffman said to the crowd. “And to bring it back to what you’re doing here and what I hope to be a call to action and not despair, it underscores the importance of all of you doing as much as you can right now, right here in our community. We are absolutely counting on you.”
