The Columbia City Council is considering replacing its Environment and Energy commission with a new Climate and Environment commission. At its Monday meeting, the city council read the proposed action for the first time, which if approved, would take effect later this year. According to Barbara Buffaloe, The Sustainability Manager for Columbia’s Department of Sustainability, along with just expanding the commission’s size, this change could also create a more defined role for the new commission in addressing climate matters.
“The previous commission, the Environment and Energy Commission, was formed originally in the 70’s and it has a very general purpose written for it, and also had not been updated. We needed to have something fresher,” Buffaloe said.
The previous commission was a largely reactionary body and worked at request from the City Council, the new commission would have greater agency in making reports on local climate related issues before they happen. This will also aid the City’s work toward its Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, which among other goals, hopes to significantly cut Columbia’s greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.
“The development of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was actually as the result of community members coming to the city council saying we’re concerned about climate change we’re seeing evidence of it in the Midwest- worried about extreme heat in the summer time and extreme weather events in the spring and in the winter and we want to reduce our impact as well as prepare for this already changing climate,” said Buffaloe.
If the City Council moves forward with the replacement of the Environment and Energy Commission, the new commission can begin having members appointed in November.