Larimer County wants to be smarter about climate. It is a fair statement that we all value clean air, clean water, and clean land, whether we work in a Fort Collins coffee shop or work the land as a farmer or rancher in the Waverly-Buckeye area or attend school in Berthoud. Yet, we’re seeing these valuable resources, our economy, and health, being impacted by a changing climate. For this reason, Larimer County is working on a Climate Smart Larimer County (CSLC) Initiative to guide us in adapting to climate impacts already underway (adaptation) and in reducing future climate impacts (mitigation).
As shown on the timeline below, the first phase of the CSLC Initiative was the development of a framework, to include preliminary recommendations. The next phase (happening now) is to advance the preliminary recommendations with the public’s help, to understand what else is needed from the perspective of our diverse community members and what they see as challenges and appropriate responses for the unique North Front Range context. Community input will help inform the County’s first Climate Action Plan – the third and last phase of the project.
Climate Smart Larimer County Initiative Timeline
Being a Climate Smart County is a collective effort that includes daily actions we take as individuals and actions we take collaboratively as a community. No single person or organization would be able to affect climate change on its own, but through collaboration, communication, and innovation we can make a difference on complex challenges and be a model for others to follow.
Call to Action! Our first engagement touchpoint is a questionnaire that aims to introduce the initiative to the community, to understand where we all stand on climate, and to recruit participants for workshops in February 2022. To take this questionnaire online, please (click here) or use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code below.
For more information, please visit the project website www.larimer.org/climate-smart