Leon County to consider climate change emergency declaration that emphasizes DEI

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Leon County Board of County Commissioners will consider a resolution on Tuesday that declares a climate emergency for the county, originally introduced by the youth advocacy organization GenCLEO.

The resolution emphasizes the importance of addressing “past and ongoing harms” by focusing on the principles of “justice, inclusion, equity, diversity, and democracy” during the county’s transition to a zero-emission, renewable economy.

“Whereas, anthropogenic climate change, pollution, environmental destruction, and fossil fuel extraction and use have and will continue to exacerbate systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic crises,” it reads.

“By disproportionately affecting indigenous, migrant, minority, deindustrialized, and depopulated rural communities, impoverished individuals, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and the youth,” it states.

Additionally, the proposal commits to protecting water quality, tackling food insecurity, and increasing “climate literacy and education” in the public school system.

Ultimately, the resolution attempts to develop and implement “effective, just, and equitable” policies to “address the climate emergency no later than 2030.”

Commissioner Brian Welch told Florida’s Voice that he was “unlikely” to support the resolution as it was drafted.

“I’m proud of the county’s sustainability efforts and as such, most of the action being requested in the resolution is already being done by our office of resource stewardship,” he said

“While I appreciate the concerns of the student advocates, I recognize that we have much more immediate and pressing concerns at the local level such as crime and homelessness for which we should be focusing on our declarations of emergencies and crises,” he added.

He finished by saying that he plans to focus on doing everything he can to increase the quality of life for all Leon County residents in a meaningful and sustainable ways.

GenCLEO is a branch of the Climate Leadership Engagement Opportunities Institute. The group seeks to educate “all people, governments, and organizations” in order to have a planet that is “informed,” “engaged,” and willing to take action on “critical climate issues.”

The institute proudly boasts that they have educated over 17,000 individuals on climate change, primarily through heeding the science and seeking social justice in communities.

Florida the Emergency State is the institute’s major campaign, in partnership with the Union of Concerned Scientists and the VoLo foundation. The activism seeks to raise awareness on rising sea levels, along with more severe weather conditions and extreme natural disasters.

“If we fail to act now, Florida will no longer be ‘The Sunshine State’ but a state in an emergency,” their website reads.