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<br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: June 5, 2018 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-h <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Asset Management Services <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Orange County’s Proposed Letter of <br />Commitment to the Global Covenant of Mayors <br />for Climate and Energy <br /> <br />2) Fact Sheet on the Global Covenant of Mayors <br />for Climate & Energy <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Brennan Bouma, Sustainability <br />Coordinator, (919) 245-2626 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To authorize the Chair to sign a letter indicating Orange County’s commitment to <br />the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy as requested by the Orange County <br />Commission for the Environment. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: In June 2017, following the federal government’s decision to withdraw from <br />the international Paris Climate Agreement, the Board of Orange County Commissioners <br />resolved to uphold the Agreement. This established a goal for Orange County to reduce <br />greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2025 based on 2005 levels. That resolution, and the set <br />of climate and energy actions it implies, was further strengthened by Orange County’s <br />commitment in September 2017 to move to a 100% renewable energy economy. <br /> <br />In order to meet these goals, a first logical step is to update the County’s original 2005 <br />Greenhouse Gas Inventory and to begin the process of creating a climate, resilience, and <br />renewables action plan. Orange County is not alone in prioritizing the need for thoughtful actions <br />to both combat and prepare for the worst impacts of climate change, and there are now <br />standard processes, models, and tools that can be used to plan the County’s next steps and <br />track its progress transparently. <br /> <br />In parallel with setting these goals, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Manager <br />approved funding in FY 2017-18 for Orange County’s portion of the Triangle Regional <br />Resilience Assessment, which is currently nearing completion. Once complete, this assessment <br />will identify stressors, both climate-related (e.g. storm events, extreme heat) and non-climate <br />related (e.g. population growth, affordable housing), and the vulnerabilities of certain regional <br />assets to those stressors. This will inform local planning and action to increase Orange <br />County’s resilience in a time of rapid change. <br /> <br />The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy <br />The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (hereafter “Covenant”) assists more than <br />7,100 local governments worldwide in their transition to a low-carbon economy, and <br />1