On the evening of May
7, 2019, South Miami residents and Sierra Club Miami volunteers gathered at
South Miami City Hall to support and celebrate the City’s commitment to 100%
clean and renewable energy community-wide by 2040. The City Commission of South
Miami unanimously passed a resolution committing the City to transition by 2040
with a timeline and milestones for implementation. The resolution emphasizes a
just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy, and includes a
commitment for the city to work with community stakeholders to implement its
goal. The City will begin a planning
process with community members in the coming months, and hopes for widespread
participation.
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| Sierra Club Miami volunteers gather at City Hall to show support. |
South Miami has a
history of environmental leadership, from committing to carbon neutral
municipal operations, participating in the creation of the Green Corridor PACE
financing district, and leading Solar United Neighbors of Florida to expand
solar purchasing cooperatives into South Florida. Recently, the City became the
first municipality outside of California to require all new construction
include solar energy systems.
“South Miami's new
commitment to a 100 percent clean and renewable energy supply community-wide is
the natural extension of our history of commitment to the planet, our children,
and the natural world. Now we have roll up our sleeves, fill out our budget,
and move this commitment from paper to reality. We invite our neighboring
municipalities to join us in transforming our economy and infrastructure to a
more sustainable way of life," said South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard.
With this resolution,
South Miami became the first city in south Florida, the 122nd city in the U.S.,
and the eighth city in a growing group of Florida cities that includes Dunedin,
Gainesville, Largo, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Tallahassee to
commit to this goal. Sierra Club Miami Group and Ready for 100 volunteers had
been working with the City of South Miami and their Green Task Force on a 100%
renewable energy supply for the last year.
After a series of resident interviews, community meetings, and townhall
events, volunteers worked with the Green Task Force to write a timeline and
implementation plan. In the weekend
preceding the vote, 252 petition signatures poured in and the City Commission
to accelerated their transition timeline from 2050 to 2040! In addition, the City has also begun taking
steps on their commitment to carbon neutral transportation. This month, staff
began taking steps to implement their transition plan, known as the Intermodal
Transportation Plan, including developing their first federal grant request for
electric buses.
“Communities across
Florida know firsthand what the climate crisis means for our future. To build
healthier, resilient, and strong communities and local economies, we need to
focus on our contributions to a global issue that will touch families in our
community and across the world. Congratulations to South Miami for leading the
way locally -- the Sierra Club looks forward to working with the City to
implement its vision for 100 percent clean, renewable energy. In the Sunshine State,
solar can be our ticket to powering forward a better future for all,” said Noel
Cleland, Political Committee Chair of the Florida Sierra Club Miami Group.
Sierra Club Florida
congratulates Miami Group, City of South Miami and Ready for 100 volunteers on
this success, and looks forward to the start of the community-planning process! Big thanks also to the local solar homeowners for their time and support! Learn more about how they went solar and saved at Solar United Neighbors. #CleanEnergyForAll #Readyfor100Action
