CRRP-GoldmanJonathan Goldman
589 Burt's Pit Road
Florence, MA 01062
Driving to a meeting as the BBC Newshour played on the radio, I listened to Anne Olhoff, one of the original drafters of the Climate Paris Accords talk with exhaustion. She noted how,
yes, it's fantastic to see both government and the business markets beginning to pay attention to climate change but that their sense of urgency is still far behind where it needs to
be. She described this as a cognitive dissonance as politicians and business leaders try to tell the world they're fighting for us while simultaneously not listening to our cries for
urgency in addressing this climate crisis. We're not making a sacrifice by focusing our resources on protecting the environment; we're making an investment in our future so we have a
future.
I'm proud to see Northampton taking steps to address the climate crisis. When I was chair of the Northampton Mayor's Youth Commission, one of our priorities was the plastic bag ban.
With Northampton's Climate Resilience and Regeneration plan now before us, it's important to take into consideration the points I noted above: we must approach this like a crisis and
we must be clearer in how we will meet our goals.
While the climate plan includes many many steps Northampton must take to counteract climate change, there is a lack of urgency. Without strict deadlines and timelines for how those goals
will be achieved, we're kicking the can down the road. We need to set actual dates on these projects. Without those dates pressing down on us, we will not be pressured with the urgency
needed to take action.
I would also like there to be metrics tied to how we are determining we've met these goals. For example, community aggregation plans vary widely and without metrics determining what
counts as success, we're leaving too much room to institute weak plans that don't achieve our goals.
Lastly, I believe it is important to note how urgent this truly is while simultaneously showing the pathway towards hope. By only instilling fear, we lose but by showing the urgency
and what we need to do, we instil hope.
When we implement this plan, let's not pat ourselves on the back for just taking action but let's put together a plan which leads the way for other cities and towns. Let's make this
a blueprint for guiding the way. A plan which doesn't recognize the urgency, lacks clear metrics, and doesn't have deadlines will not lead the way.
We're Northampton. We don't want to fall in line with making progress; we want to lead that progress. We may be small but we're loud and leaders in progressive policies. Let's ensure
this policy follows that same mindset and make the changes necessary to make this a successful climate plan for the future.
Thank you,
Jonathan Goldman