The term “carbon emissions” refers to the release of greenhouse gases – especially carbon dioxide – into the atmosphere. Science has shown us that these gases, which come from burning fossil fuels, has hastened the coming of the climate change now affecting our weather.
Wells Fargo and Audubon Florida are teaming up to better define this issue in East Florida.
Read the original article here in Okeechobee News.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
The Stage is set for new greenhouse gas inventories in East Florida
Audubon Florida is teaming up with local governments, ICLEI USA (Local Governments for Sustainability), and Florida universities with support from Wells Fargo to document carbon emissions in East Florida. Known as Greenhouse Gas Cohorts, teams collect critical emissions data for cities and counties.
Through this program, students from Florida universities team up with staff from city and county governments to create GHG inventories for government operations. Greenhouse gases are emitted through fossil fuel burning, operation of sewage treatment plants, and other public works activities. When they are released into the atmosphere, they trap heat, driving global climate change. Inventories allow cities and counties to understand the scope of their greenhouse gas emissions and create plans to effectively reduce them and thus their contribution to climate change. This transparency provides accountability to taxpayers and is a measure of whether the policies put in place are working effectively.
As part of the Greenhouse Gas Cohort, local governments work on the same timeline, creating momentum and collaborating as a region. Local governments also receive additional capacity from student fellows who create the inventories as they gain real-world experience for academic credit.
“Wells Fargo is committed to mitigating climate impacts, and that’s why we’re proud to support Audubon Florida and their constant, innovative efforts to conserve and restore Florida’s natural ecosystems through initiatives like the Greenhouse Gas Cohorts,” said Wells Fargo Florida Philanthropy and Community Impact Senior Vice President Kate Wilson.
Partner schools include Indian River State College, Florida Institute of Technology, Stetson University, Flagler College, and the University of Florida. As the year progresses, the student and local government pairs will participate in further training facilitated by ICLEI to complete their GHG inventories.
Audubon Florida has previously hosted two other regional GHG Cohorts. In 2021, Audubon Florida launched the state’s largest, simultaneous local government GHG inventory initiative in East Central Florida. The AF + R2C Cohort was co-facilitated by Audubon Florida, the East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative (R2C), and ICLEI. In this cohort, 18 local governments and 18 students from Stetson University, Florida Institute of Technology, and University of Central Florida were paired to complete a GHG inventory. The project team replicated the cohort in the Tampa Bay region in 2022 with 12 local governments and students from University of South Florida….
