By Larisa Manescu
San Antonio, the No. 1 fastest growing city in the nation according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, is not wasting any time waiting on federal leadership to move forward with a comprehensive plan of action. This momentum has grassroots power that goes even deeper. San Antonio residents are raising urgent concerns about the City’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP). Residents are frustrated with San Antonio’s public utility CPS Energy, who is a key player in CAAP, because they released an energy generation plan a couple of months ago that reveals slow-moving ambitions, like burning coal into the 2040s, to be “flexible” in the transition to renewable energy.
This week, Climate Action SA coalition representatives from Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Vecinos de Mission Trails, Southwest Workers Union, Our Revolution San Antonio, and imagineSanAntonio, stood in front of City Hall to propose specific climate goals for CPS Energy on a much faster timeline. The vision that our climate crisis calls for: Shut down San Antonio’s coal-fired power plants by 2025, with all other fossil fuel power plants offline by 2030.
Sierra Club San Antonio Organizer and Climate Action SA Member Greg Harman speaking at the Climate Goals Press Conference in front of City Hall on June 5, 2018 (Photo: Scott Ball / Rivard Report)
That same day, the coalition hosted a “Clean Energy For All” community workshop where residents were invited to learn and ask questions at interactive stations covering fossil fuels, air pollution, and public health impacts specific to San Antonio, as well as the affordable renewable energy alternatives paving the way for a future that doesn’t jeopardize our health and environment.
Climate Action SA: Local Resistance To Federal Failure
Climate Action SA, a coalition made up of over 35 environmental and social justice organizations as well as individuals, are meeting, organizing, and working to make sure that San Antonio’s public utility, CPS Energy, isn’t dragging its feet on transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels. The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement last June planted the seed for this coalition (formalized into “Climate Action SA” this year) to pressure then-Mayor Ivy Taylor to join mayors from around the country to sign the “We Are Still In” pledge. (San Antonio’s current mayor, Ron Nirenberg, signed the pledge after he beat Taylor in last year’s mayoral race and took office June 21, 2017.)
As a top emitter of global greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. holds a responsibility to the rest of the world to work in collaboration to address the climate crisis. That is the understanding at the heart of the Paris Agreement, which represents a collective promise not to only acknowledge the reality of climate change but to take swift and strong action to guide us on a better path. Strong leadership on the global climate crisis is more than a game of pointing fingers and accountability; it’s necessary for our collective survival. Recognizing this reality, it’s difficult not to scoff at the absurdity of being the only country on this planet-in-crisis to reject the Paris agreement.
But since Trump’s announcement of U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement last June, there has been a surge of local momentum to counter his decision.
What’s Next? CPS Energy Is Looking For Public Input On Its Energy Plan Next Week
Despite being a major funder and supporter of San Antonio’s ongoing process to develop the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, CPS Energy released an energy plan that includes burning coal for another two decades.
But it looks like they’re asking for public input, which means that San Antonio residents have a chance to show up in droves next week to demand that CPS Energy charts a new path that prioritizes the climate justice values of the community.