On November 21, St. Pete City Council approved the city’s commitment to transitioning to 100% clean, renewable energy. The approval makes St. Pete the first city in Florida and the 20th city in the country to make this commitment. This decision ensures the city will allocate $250k of BP Oil Spill settlement funds to an “Integrated Sustainability Action Plan,” which will chart a roadmap to 100% clean, renewable energy in the Burg.

The plan will also include elements of a climate action plan and strategies for St. Pete to achieve a 5 star community rating. “Working towards 100% clean energy and zero waste will help ensure that St. Pete remains a ‘city of opportunity where the sun shines on all who come to live, work and play,” said St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman in a statement.

“Whether you’re from a red state or blue state, clean energy works for everyone and local leaders will continue to move forward to create more jobs, stronger communities, and cleaner air and water,” added the Sierra Club. In addition to the funds allocated for the ISAP, two other projects have been allocated from the reserved $1 million from the BP Oil Spill settlement funds. $250K has been allocated for an energy efficiency audit and an update of City property. $300K has been allocated for collaboration with Pinellas County in developing a vulnerability assessment and modeling program that will assess the impacts and risks from potential future scenarios, like sea level rise and direct hurricane hits.

Learn more about the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign on their website. You can also follow the Suncoast Sierra club on Twitter and Facebook for further updates/information on how you can get involved to help protect the Burg’s environment.