Committee on Environmental Protection & Energy City Council October 7, 2020
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, In the fight against climate change the single scarcest resource is time; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago acted to improve air quality and reduce C02 emissions by adopting the recommendations ofthe 2008 Climate Action Plan concerning building energy use through the implementation of Retrofit Chicago, and the passage ofthe Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance in 2013; and
WHEREAS, During the administration of former Mayor Rahm Emanual, the City's Green Ribbon Committee, an advisory coalition of sustainability leaders from corporations and civic organizations was responsible for supporting the implementation ofthe Sustainable Chicago 2015 roadmap; and
WHEREAS, The Green Ribbon Committee published a report on industry best practices of environmental excellence and provided input to the Sustainability Council, a strategic program implementation body comprised of City Department commissioners; and
WHEREAS, In 2017, the City committed to powering all public buildings on 100% renewable energies by 2025, and in 2019, the City launched the Chicago Energy Rating System, and committed to power all buildings on 100% renewable energies by 2035; and
WHEREAS, On January 15, 2020, the Chicago City Council adopted a resolution acknowledging the need for an emergency mobilization to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy; and
WHEREAS, The January 15, 2020 resolution asserted that the process will require unprecedented levels of public awareness, engagement, and deliberation to develop and implement effective, just, and equitable policies to address the climate emergency; and
WHEREAS, Climate mobilization efforts by Chicago's building sector are urgent as buildings account for over 70% of Chicago's current greenhouse gas emissions, 53% of which are C02 emissions; and
WHEREAS, According to Elevate Energy, 90% of low-income Chicago residents experienced an ener...
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