Agenda 11-02-23; 6-a - Orange County Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Inventory

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11tPLEIT 1 AND REPORTING OVERVIEW The Commission for the Environment (CFE) is a citizen advisory board, composed of 15 members who are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. The CFE's primary responsibility is to advise the Board of County Commissioners on matters related to the environment. The CFE will act as an oversight committee,working with the Sustainability Manager, as the implementation and reporting process unfolds. Sustainability is inherently wide-ranging and not every action can be implemented at once. Some strategies can start immediately while other strategies,such as policies and regulations,rely on staff putting time in upfront. Other strategies like capital investments involve a long term series of steps from project scoping and procurement, to planning, design, and construction. Many of the actions will be dependent upon the allocation of staff time and resources, and budget prioritization. The plan identifies a responsible department for each strategy and offers timeframes and relative costs associated with each policy. The Sustainability Manager will monitor implementation progress using implementation and monitoring tools outlined in this CAP and will report to the Board of Commissioners on annual progress. As part of annual progress reports, the Sustainability Manager will evaluate the effectiveness of each strategy to ensure that anticipated emissions reductions are occurring. In the event that reductions do not occur as expected, Orange County can modify and add policies or actions to ensure the target is achieved. Not everything will necessarily be easy or work perfectly the first time, and perseverance will be important. It will also be important to maintain flexibility in implementing the CAP. As technologies, business models, and political agendas across all levels of government evolve, Orange County will need to remain flexible in "when" and "how" it implements the actions in this plan. As costs and feasibility change, the County will periodically evaluate and adjust course as necessary. Similarly, as progress towards key targets is tracked, the County may need to scale up or down its efforts, depending on the results observed. The County should update the CAP every five years starting in 2029 and report every year on progress towards their goals. 2023 CLIMATE ACTION PLAN ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA 81