Jean Choi | More local climate action needed

I am currently a senior at Valencia High School and an intern at the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment.

I am writing this letter to express my concerns about the increasing impacts of climate change on our city. I presented this information to the City Planning Commission at their July 16 meeting and wanted the community to know about my concerns.

This summer alone, with its record temperatures and an incredibly dangerous wildfire season, clearly shows that climate change is currently affecting our beloved city.

I therefore call on the city to update its 2012 climate protection plan. A regular update of the measures listed in it was promised, but not a single report has been produced so far.

To put this in perspective, the Climate Action Plan is based on baseline data from 2005. This means that this data was created two years before I was born.

As a concerned citizen, I would like to see the data promised to us in an updated form, especially given the city’s efforts to make improvements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As citizens, we have a right to expect the city to inform us about climate change and its impacts, especially when it directly affects our health and livelihoods.

In addition, the city has grown significantly since the plan was first approved in 2012, with new development projects occurring in almost every district.

As countless new families move to Santa Clarita, the city must keep its citizens informed about their impact on climate change.

Overall, as a member of the younger generation, I would respectfully ask the City to update its Climate Action Plan. My fellow citizens and I will have to deal with the damaging consequences if the City does not meet the looming pressures of climate change.

Jean Choi

Valencia