Equity and Engagement in Erie County Climate Task Force

A Focus on Equity and Engagement in Erie County Climate Task Force

By Bonnie Lange Lawrence, Deputy Commissioner of Erie County Department of Environment and Planning

There is a tension between the urgency of addressing climate change and the time it takes to engage one’s community in a planning process. Under the leadership of County Executive Poloncarz, Erie County is trying to thread that needle by creating an equity-centered climate action plan with a wide variety of partners and stakeholders, as well as extensive public outreach.

Erie County’s Community Climate Change Task Force, a committee of our Environmental Management Council chaired by Dr. Susan Clark of the University at Buffalo, advises us on this work. The Task Force has more than 30 members including representatives from a utility, transportation authority, municipal transportation planning unit, municipalities, businesses, communitybased organizations, advocacy groups, and youth groups.

With the Task Force’s guidance and the help of over 100 volunteers – topic experts and community members – in 10 working groups, the county is preparing its climate action plan using the goals of the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Like the work at the state level, Erie County is grounding its planning efforts in equity.

This means continually revisiting questions posed by a Racial Impact Analysis Tool, such as “Who isn’t at the table?” Moreover, one of the working groups, Climate Justice, is reviewing the outputs of all the others to ensure that the focus on equity is not lost.

While this level of cooperation and volunteerism is inspiring to those who see it, we recognize that the work will not be as valued if the public is not aware of it or given an opportunity to weigh in. There is no silver bullet. Authentic and effective community engagement is always challenging, so we are using multiple approaches and casting a wide net. For example, we have established a web site that offers different ways for the public to be informed about and interact with the planning process, tiered by time commitment. These include: signing up for our mailing list, sharing information on social media, taking a survey, having a meeting with our staff, and becoming a Climate Ambassador. Our Climate Ambassador program recognizes that we need trusted messengers throughout the County to introduce this work to their book clubs, church groups, scout troops, etc. We currently have more than 20 ambassadors and we are looking to grow that as we head into the last 6 months of our planning.

With assistance from our Environmental Management Council, we are also planning outreach events with community organizations who would not have the capacity to participate without that support. Through those groups we are reaching groups that might be overlooked - rural, urban, religious, indigenous, seniors and youth - but have lived experiences that are important to creating a plan that is responsive to the needs of the community and that will have support once it is completed. We have a small budget to help with outreach and graphics, but we are mainly relying on no-cost options like social media, our local libraries and partner institutions, like the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Along the way, we are building relationships and breaking down silos. We are committed to a community-centered process so that we can move forward together.

For more information about Erie County’s Climate Action planning process, visit: www.erie.gov/climateaction.