Florida Race to Zero Cohort

22 cities pledge to work toward carbon neutrality

by James Miller, Florida League of Cities

The Florida League of Cities (FLC) is excited to announce the municipalities participating in the Race to Zero Cohort. The Florida Race to Zero is a friendly competition between Florida’s Mayors designed to showcase how their cities are leading the way to climate neutrality through the Cities Race to Zero pledge. The League is underwriting the costs for these 22 municipalities.

The Florida Race to Zero is part of a global Race to Zero campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, governments and investors for a healthy, resilient and decarbonized economy. Mayors across Florida have made ambitious pledges to make their cities carbon neutral. The mission of this coalition is to serve as a platform to amplify their work, collaborate with one another and encourage other Mayors and cities to “join the race” and make similar pledges.

The 22 cities chosen are part of a “cohort” – a structured, technical assistance training program that will guide participants toward tangible results. The League’s investment will allow participants to access the technical assistance and expertise of national and regional organizations.

The municipalities will:

▸ Develop a baseline inventory of local greenhouse gas emissions

▸ Set a 2030 science-based target and identify high-impact actions that align with the global Race to Zero

▸ Create capacity to act among city staff and elected officials

▸ Prepare to expand climate action to include adaptation and resilience.

Each participant will receive assistance in:

▸ Conducting greenhouse gas inventories and developing science-based targets

▸ Developing an action plan (including a stakeholder engagement component)

▸ Implementing the plan

▸ Reporting results.

Each municipality designated one employee as a point of contact and local lead and has committed 15 hours per month of staff time over the course of the program.

The participating municipalities will be recognized for their effort and commitment at the 2022 FLC Annual Conference in August.

James Miller is the Associate Director of Communications for the Florida League of Cities.

Cohort Municipalities

▸ City of Apopka

▸ City of Boca Raton

▸ City of Bowling Green

▸ City of Cape Coral

▸ City of Coconut Creek

▸ City of Cooper City

▸ City of Coral Gables

▸ City of DeLand

▸ City of Delray Beach

▸ Town of Havana

▸ City of Key West

▸ City of Lake Worth Beach

▸ Village of Miami Shores

▸ City of Miramar

▸ City of Mount Dora

▸ City of Oakland Park

▸ City of Pompano Beach

▸ City of Sanibel

▸ City of St. Petersburg

▸ City of Stuart

▸ City of Sunny Isles Beach

▸ Village of Tequesta

Resources at FloridaRaceToZero.com

▸ An overview of the friendly competition

▸ City news regarding the initiative

▸ Access to webinars on the effort and federal funding

▸ Reprints of articles on climate impact by city leaders

▸ Reprints of opinion columns about city efforts by local leaders

▸ Opportunity to sign up for emails to stay up to date.