About 50 people assembled on a patch of green in front of the Juanita Helms Administrative Center before the Assembly meeting. They had been organized by the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, to protest the changes made to the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, by the committee tasked with workshopping it. Tristan Glowa encouraged people to speak to the Assembly.
“So, when the climate crisis threatens our people, makes our public services vulnerable, puts our homes in harm's way, it is the borough's responsibility to act. We demand a real climate action plan,” Glowa said.
Inside the public hearing on the plan, Charlotte Basham, of the Coalition’s Inter-faith working group read a letter to the Assembly.
“It was signed by 64 people representing 16 faith communities in Fairbanks. The science is clear. The spiritual need is great and good leadership is needed as we see climate change impacting Alaska and particularly the most vulnerable in our community,” Basham said.
During the hearing, about 40 people testified for the plan, but like Kenzley Deffler, said they thought it had been watered-down by the working committee.
“ A very diverse representation of voices went into crafting this plan and overnight that plan was overhauled. So I am really calling on our elected leaders to do their job, to amend the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and make it a robust and ambitious plan, one that is needed to match the urgency of the climate crisis,” Deffler said.
Dr. Terry Chapin is one of the science professionals appointed to serve on the original committee in 2021. Last fall, after the municipal election, the original members of the committee were dismissed and replaced by new people. After a public outcry, Chapin was re-appointed to the committee.
“I appreciate the effort that both of those groups put into this,” Chapin said.
Chapin encouraged people to take the action steps in the plan together.
“But people differ in their primary motivation for reducing energy use. Some want to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate warming. Others want to reduce the tax burden by reducing the cost of government. Still others want to improve public health. By reducing air pollution, we should celebrate the fact that the same borough actions can support all of these mutual benefits,” Chapin said.
Steve Keller was one of two people who testified against the plan.
“ To think that we're spending money in Fairbanks, in the borough when we have budget issues, on a wasted bunch of time, and I, I, my advice is forget about the plan. Just get rid of it,” Keller said.
During Assembly debate, member Savannah Fletcher tried several amendments to replace language in the action steps of the plan that had been removed by the working committee. All but one amendment failed.
Assembly member Jimi Cash explained why he didn’t think a plan that gives the borough administration and citizens goals for conservation would work.
“I believe a hundred percent that climate change - it's actually happening. The fact that we've had ice changes before and the fact that permafrost is melting, it happens. But I don't believe that man caused it, and I don't believe that we could do anything really to stop it,” Cash said.
Member Mindy O’Neall lead the effort to develop a plan since 2019, and helped form both a citizens’ task force and later authored the ordinance creating the Assembly committee with the assignment to develop the plan. She shared her frustration that the plan before the body was not strong enough to be meaningful.
“This climate plan is an underwhelming, disrespectful, underminded, ignorant, blatant, subversion, less hopeful version of what our community could be. We're just turning our backs on each other. This plan says we're uneducated leadership, in the home of the United States’ Arctic University. This plan says we're cold and disassociated from our own golden hearts. This plan says ‘no’ from a community that prides itself on direction. This plan is ineffective from a community that values efficiency,” said O’Neall.
In the end the plan pleased no one on the body, and the Assembly voted it down, 9 -0.
