Dear Henrico County Supervisors,

As residents of Henrico County, Virginia, we are gravely concerned about how climate change is already impacting our families, with extreme storms, heat-related health issues, worsening air quality, rising energy costs, and stormwater flooding. Scientists predict that without action, these problems will worsen. There are policies local governments should be adopting to address and mitigate these threats. We ask Henrico County government to protect our community by immediately adopting and implementing a proactive climate action plan, and incorporating the recommendations of the climate plan into the County’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan. 

In 2008 then-Governor Tim Kaine established the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change, which encouraged localities to make climate plans.  In the two decades since, counties and cities throughout Virginia have adopted formal climate planning processes, including Richmond City, Alexandria, Prince William, Albemarle and more.  We in Henrico deserve the same.  

Henrico’s climate action plan will begin by determining our existing carbon baseline. Drawing on community feedback, it will determine best policies for the county to significantly reduce local carbon emissions, while keeping residents safe from the impacts that climate change is already having on our well-being and our economy.

In order to manage this process, the Board should create and fund an Office of Sustainability, and empower it to implement the climate plan policies with the urgency necessary to address the climate challenge. Time is of the essence.

We, the undersigned, ask that you adopt a Henrico County resolution to fund and fully implement a strong, community-driven climate action plan.