June 10, 2026
A few years ago, my family’s regular bike ride to synagogue was detoured for most of the summer because Water Street and the adjacent Lilydale Trail were closed. Excessive spring flooding had not only hefted tons of riverbed onto the roadway but rising waters had also damaged a road barrier which needed fixing before the street could reopen.
Springtime flooding is nothing new, of course, but the intensity and frequency of flooding are increasing. This is just one among many ways in which climate change is upon us - no longer a far-off problem to be avoided, but a reality in our daily lives. From the freeze-thaw cycles that tear up our streets to the urban heat island effect that’s made worse by hotter summers to more intense storms and floods, our changing climate affects our lives in ways we see and feel every day.
I’m proud to live in a city that takes this problem seriously and that’s rising to the challenge of meeting it head on, doing all we can to mitigate its most serious impacts and forestall more severe climate disruption.
In St. Paul, our work is guided by the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP), first adopted in 2019 and updated this year. The CARP lays out Saint Paul’s climate goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050, and it includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and transportation, expand clean energy and energy efficiency, integrate climate resilience into long-term city planning and capital investments and support sustainable transportation options, such as walking, biking, transit, and electric vehicles.
The updated plan refreshes the original framework and, importantly, introduces a new five-year action plan to guide implementation. A plan, after all, is only as good as the actions it spurs.
The revised plan also highlights neighborhoods that are more vulnerable to climate change, whether for geographic, demographic or socioeconomic reasons. This is especially important in Ward 2, where many neighborhoods are adjacent to and impacted by the river and its associated activities. For example, Southport neighbors are fighting back against pollution, dust and noise from the industrial activity and railroad tracks just behind their homes. The new plan calls for these areas to be prioritized when the City takes climate-related action.
Like all seemingly insurmountable problems, climate change can be addressed - but it will take all of us working together. To that end, both the CARP and the City’s overall climate work are the products of extensive community engagement. Residents guide our direction by serving on and giving input to the Climate Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) and city staff. I encourage you to learn more about the plan here and consider getting involved in this important work.