Attachment B - CAP Engagement Summary and Rapid Response Assessment

ATTACHMENT B: Climate Action Plan Engagement Summary and Rapid Response Equity Assessment 1. Engagement Methods The following table summarizes recent engagements that informed the current draft of the Climate Action Plan (CAP). These methods focused on reaching frontline communities and the many leaders in that space by leveraging existing contracts, relationships and lived experiences within communities most affected by climate risks. Engagement Consultation with Once and Future Green

What’s Up Boulder Community Connectorsin-Residence Youth Opportunitie s Advisory Board (YOAB) BVCP Workshop with CU Students Climate Justice Collaborative ’s Cafecito Climate Equity & Justice Gatherings

Description As part of the update to Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP), Planning & Development Services contracted with Once and Future Green (O&FG) to thoughtfully integrate equity into the BVCP process and outcomes. This process surfaced climate-related priorities from frontline communities, that Climate Initiatives staff then explored with O&FG to inform the CAP Update. Climate Initiatives facilitated a booth at What’s Up Boulder that included an activity where attendees could highlight their climate action priorities through participatory art. Staff met with the city’s Community Connectors-inResidence (CCinR) to review and refine the Rapid Response Equity Assessment, helping to identify potential benefits, burdens, and unintended consequences of the CAP Update’s focus areas. Staff engaged with high school students in YOAB to elevate youth perspectives and opportunities for leadership in climate action.

Date(s) June 26th and September 10th

The BVCP team and Climate Initiatives staff partnered with CU’s Environmental Center to engage more than 80 college students in neighborhood-scale climate action priorities. Staff from Climate Initiatives and P&DS supported the Climate Justice Collaborative in hosting a small gathering with frontline community members to advise on the BVCP and CAP Update. To deepen understanding of community priorities for a just transition, staff convened two gatherings (one in-person, one virtual) with community leaders working within frontline communities. These convenings highlighted

October 7th

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September 7th September 19th

October 3rd

October 9th

October 10th and 14th

Voicing Boulder

successful community-led climate efforts and recommendations on moving climate justice efforts forward. Staff leveraged the climate-related input from the Voicing Boulder participatory storytelling project designed for BVCP.

Completed in October

2. CAP Engagement Themes The following table summarizes the feedback heard through targeted 2025 CAP engagement, organized into themes, with a summary of how the feedback informed the CAP. Theme / Topic

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Build transparent, accountable, and participatory systems for climate leadership and decisionmaking

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City Response / Action

Thoughtful data collection and analysis Inclusive and meaningful engagement with reasonable timelines that respect community members’ needs Clear decision-making Measuring success Storytelling to celebrate progress Partnerships with the business community, school district, university, and communitybased organizations Fair compensation for leaders from frontline communities who advise the city and facilitate engagement Considering trust as an outcome of equitable practices and policies, not a precondition for engagement 2

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Clear metrics for each Big Move will be tracked on public dashboard(s). Cross-cutting principles aim to build more accountability into how we do things. Emphasis on OneBoulder, whole-city governance model. Commitment to Implementation Plan as a “living document” informed by ongoing dialogue and learnings Integrated under CEJ focus area to direct ongoing consultation and engagement with frontline communities to minimize undue burdens and maximize benefits

Recognize the conventional lens of white privilege

Empower youth and strengthen intergenerati onal leadership in climate action

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Ongoing dialogue and collaboration through community-led discussions and Tribal consultation

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Addressing structural and institutional barriers Ensuring benefits and burdens are distributed equitably

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Foster a just transition towards system-level change and communityled climate action, especially within frontline communities

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Reflection of how strategies reinforce privilege woven into CAP Implementation Plan

• Recognize youth perspectives on urgency and mental health • Enhanced youth participation in city decision-making Youth jobs to train wellrounded, young climate leaders • Bridging generational divides through mentorship, storytelling, and collaboration

Elevating youth leadership integrated under CEJ focus area Continuation and expansion of existing youth career development opportunities (Community Forestry Corps, Parks/OSMP programs) Connection to mental health and emotional resilience, and collaboration with CERI, emphasized in CEJ focus area

Recognition of historical harms and erasure Valuing lived experience and cultural practices as expertise Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Native-led workforce development Access to land for Indigenous peoples/tribes Community ownership models and cooperative approaches to energy, land, and resources Capacity-building within frontline communities to lead climate solutions Financial and technical assistance

Climate justice was more strongly incorporated into overarching goal City funding to support capacity building and climate leadership from within frontline community-based organizations: included in a big move under CEJ focus area Neighborhood preparedness and resilience hub priorities elevated to Planning, tracking action in the community and will prompt additional community conversations Workforce development focused engagement and

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Community-led resilience and neighborhood preparedness

analysis needs woven into CAP Implementation Plan

• Housing instability, food insecurity, water quality, and health disparities as core climate justice issues Increase • Barriers to the adoption of affordability climate-friendly practices, such as and rising energy costs equitable • Financial literacy and insecurity access to the in relation to climate emergencies full range of • Subsidies, safety nets, and public access to assistance programs resources • Concerns regarding safety in and services public • Clear communication on eligibility and available resources • Enhancing transportation systems, accessibility, and safety

• Housing concerns referred to BVCP • Water concerns referred to Utilities • Transportation concerns referred to Transportation & Mobility • Public safety concerns referred to law enforcement • City funding to support capacity building and climate leadership from within frontline communitybased organizations: included in a big move under CEJ focus area • Priority to review existing resources and communications to be clear, accessible, and culturally relevant, is woven into CAP Implementation Plan • Continued prioritization of resources towards equity in CAP and implementation plan

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Strengthen Local Food Systems as Essential Community Resilience Infrastructur e

• Food insecurity repeatedly raised as a top concern tied to affordability and resilience • Need for holistic thinking about food alongside energy, water, and land priorities • Support local and cooperative food production models that build redundancy and resilience • Ensure economic benefit from local food systems flows to those historically disadvantaged • Suggestions for community-led grocery stores, edible 4

• City Council direction sought on how and within which department(s) food should be prioritized

neighborhoods, and food forests for every neighborhood • Valuing cultural wisdom and traditions in raising and growing food • Include food access and local food resilience in emergency planning • Support climate-smart regenerative food production • Support food recovery and redistribution before composting • Additional recommendations, not specific to climate, are included within the Food Security Network’s recommendations previously provided to City Council

Protect the Rights of Nature

• Legal rights of rivers, air, ecosystems, species • Concern that AI data centers could create new environmental and social burdens, particularly for water use and energy • Recognition that ecosystem degradation is intertwined with social and economic inequities

• AI concerns referred to city’s AI working group for refinement of city AI policies and planning • Language added within Naturebased Solutions focus area to emphasize importance of protecting ecosystems for ecosystem’s sake (not just humans)

Foster Connections with Nature, Belonging, and Social Resilience

• Accessible, outdoor places to gather for youth, people with disabilities, elders, and/or Indigenous peoples • Invest in micro-infrastructure such as shaded corridors • Climate education, experiences, and stewardship • Acknowledging climate emotions such as grief and fatigue in communication and engagement

• Nature connection opportunities referred to City’s Nature Everywhere team • Stewardship opportunities referred to Cool Boulder campaign, as well as Parks and OSMP steward programs • Pilot projects to invest in naturebased micro-infrastructure are incorporated into a big move under Nature Based Solutions focus area

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• Community-building as a key resilience strategy

Connect Local Action to Global Systems

• Boulder’s ties to global supply chains and extractive industries • Regional and global impacts of local consumerism and “clean” technologies • Partnerships across jurisdictions and scales to influence systemic change

• City investments and partnerships that advance climate Align equity Financial and • Shifting public funds and policies Institutional away from extractive systems Systems with • Tracking fiscal and institutional Climate and decisions against long-term, Equity Goals community-centered climate outcomes

• Inclusion of systems-scale change principle guides work across the big moves • Priorities included to hold corporations accountable (e.g., producer responsibility) and improve sustainability of regional supply chains incorporated into a big move under Circular Economy focus area • Continued tracking and assessment of global impacts of local consumption and regional/global supply chains emphasized in Circular Economy focus area • Progress indicator to track climate tax funds directly supporting historically underserved communities, with target to be developed • Aligning investments and spending referred to Sustainable and Equitable Purchasing Policy (in development) • Inclusion of financial and economic systems principle guides work across the big moves

3. Rapid Response Equity Assessment Staff used the City’s Rapid Response Equity Assessment to help identify who benefits and who may be burdened by proposed CAP strategies, as well as to anticipate and mitigate potential unintended consequences. The Rapid Response Equity Assessment was

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selected for the CAP because its broader guiding questions are better suited to evaluating a high-level plan rather than a specific budget decision or policy. A. What is the policy, activity or budget decision that could impact racial equity? The CAP establishes citywide strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase resilience to climate hazards, and improve community well-being. Each Action Area influences how resources, incentives, and benefits are distributed—shaping who participates, who benefits, and who bears costs. This assessment was originally conducted when the plan was organized around five action areas: Clean Energy & Buildings, Clean & Connected Mobility, Circular Economy, NatureBased Solutions, and Climate Resilience & Justice. Since then, the CAP has evolved into a set of seven action areas, which while renamed and reorganized continue to encompass the same topics and equity considerations analyzed in this assessment. The findings therefore remain relevant to the current CAP. Each Action Area influences how benefits are distributed and how different communities experience the impacts and opportunities of climate action. B. Who could be negatively impacted by the decision? • Clean Energy & Buildings: Families, low-income and older, fixed-income homeowners, renters unfamiliar with landlord-tenant laws, small and BIPOC-owned businesses, and smaller landlords could face cost burdens, challenges with compliance, or lack of access to incentives and technical support. • Clean & Connected Mobility: Renters and low-income households who cannot afford electric vehicles; communities not prioritized for investment in transit or mobility hubs; and individuals with disabilities if infrastructure is not designed inclusively. • Circular Economy: Small businesses facing higher costs or administrative burdens; community members and institutions reliant on single-use items for safety or accessibility; and recycling workers who could lose income as systems formalize. • Nature-Based Solutions: Businesses and contractors invested in conventional landscaping practices; community members frustrated by new restrictions; and small landscapers who may lose work if training and outreach do not reach them. • Climate Resilience & Justice: Small landlords in high-risk zones facing increased costs; renters and low-income households unable to invest in upgrades; and low-income communities facing compounded risks such as food or housing insecurity. C. Who is currently or could experience benefits? • Clean Energy & Buildings: Families and individuals with respiratory or heart conditions; low-income and older homeowners; community members in heat-risk and high-wind areas; mobile home owners; renters; and small business owners, particularly BIPOCowned businesses, who benefit from healthier and more efficient spaces. • Clean & Connected Mobility: Transit-dependent community members, in-commuters who receive rebates or transit passes, community members gaining access to mobility 7

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hubs, and the broader community through reduced emissions, congestion, and improved air quality. Circular Economy: Frontline workers exposed to toxic conditions; community members benefiting from cleaner environments; homeowners accessing affordable reused materials; and small businesses and workers gaining new opportunities in recycling, deconstruction, and reuse. Nature-Based Solutions: Community members in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods; students and schools with shaded outdoor spaces; community gardeners and local food producers; small-scale landscapers gaining new skills; and the broader community benefiting from biodiversity and healthier ecosystems. Climate Resilience & Justice: Frontline communities most exposed to climate hazards; community members of high-heat or wildfire-risk areas; and all city community members benefiting from reduced loss of life, property, and improved emergency response.

D. What strategies might mitigate or avoid unintended consequences for people of color? • Clean Energy & Buildings: Elevate community-led initiatives, simplify and phase in regulations, expand bilingual outreach, increase contractor training, provide targeted supports for small businesses and low-income community members, and communicate affordability and health co-benefits. • Clean & Connected Mobility: Provide technical or financial assistance to install EV charging in multifamily housing; assess public charging locations to ensure equitable access; and partner with community-based organizations to distribute incentives and guide siting decisions. • Circular Economy: Offer technical or financial assistance for small, local, minorityowned businesses; pair new requirements with workforce development programs; advocate for equitable regional policies; and prioritize small and minority-owned vendors in city contracting. • Nature-Based Solutions: Use clear, accessible communication; fund training programs for small landscapers and small businesses; support place-based community stewards; and connect local professionals and community members through peer learning. • Climate Resilience & Justice: Elevate and fund community-led resilience initiatives; direct equity investments to community-identified needs; connect community members to qualified contractors and training; provide financial assistance for compliance; and improve access to information and face-to-face engagement. E. Summary of Community Connector Feedback — September 2025 Community Connectors-in-Residence emphasized that future CAP updates should deepen the focus on justice, implementation clarity, and regional and global transparency. Key themes included: • Justice and Rights of Nature: Expand beyond human-centered equity to include ecosystems (water, land, air, and wildlife) as part of climate justice. 8

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Implementation Clarity: Clearly communicate how programs will be implemented, what resources community members can access, and how long incentives will last. Just Transition: Increase transparency about who benefits financially. Evaluate global supply chains and related environmental and social impacts, including water use from emerging technologies. Indigenous Partnership: Establish sustained Tribal consultation and provide hospitality and workspace for visiting Arapaho and other Nations. Support Native-led ecological restoration, stewardship, and workforce programs. Community Ownership: Invest in cooperative and community-led projects, including local energy co-ops, resilience hubs, and green jobs programs that share economic benefits with frontline community members. Beyond Boulder: Consider regional and global connections—how Boulder’s resource use and technology choices affect other communities and ecosystems. Measuring Success: Define clear metrics for success and decision-making processes.

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