Here are 3 things Austin City Council is trying to do about climate change right now

AUSTIN (KXAN) — From Mayor Kirk Watson announcing he wants the City of Austin to shut down its portion of the Fayette Power Plant no later than 2029, to the possibility of a climate change bond election later this year, there’s a renewed focus at City Hall on climate change issues.

City Council members say it’s a top priority for them to both prevent further climate change and prepare for the impacts of changes already happening.

“It’s going to mean more damages for our communities, so more infrastructure that doesn’t work the way that we need it to work, people’s lives and livelihoods put in danger,” Dr. Geeta Persad, an associate professor of climate science at the University of Texas, said.

Several city council members have brought forward climate change-related items over the next couple of weeks. Here’s what we’re watching:

Electric lawn equipment

One of Council Member Ryan Alter’s proposals asks the City to expand its electric lawn care rebate program, and incentivize Austinites to ditch their gas-powered equipment for less harmful alternatives.

“What we want to do say ‘hey, if you’ve got an old gas lawn mower that you want to trade in for an electric one, we’re going to boost that rebate and help you help everybody by having a cleaner option,'” Alter said.

That item will be voted on during Austin City Council’s March 7 meeting.

Incentivizing Austin partners to go green

Alter’s other climate change resolution — which will be voted on this Thursday — would create a pilot program to incentivize companies that work with the City to switch to greener practices, specifically with an initial focus on lawn care and concrete.

“These are two areas that disproportionately impact our environment,” Alter said.

The resolution directs the City Manager to create a “preference policy for low environmental impact options as well as providing tailored assistance to vendors seeking to transition to more sustainable practices in the pilot program,” the resolution reads.

WaterWise program

Council Member Mackenzie Kelly introduced a resolution, which will also be voted on Thursday, that would create an educational campaign promoting the City’s WaterWise program.

Through that program you can get money back for having things like sustainable landscaping. Kelly says she specifically wants to ensure that campaign reaches a variety of people who may not have access to it now.

“We actually specifically in this resolution put in multi-language access for this program…I think it’s really important to find alternative ways to get information out that would benefit the community and this is one way to do that,” Kelly said.

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