Climate summit, workshops put spotlight on resilience

More than 500 people attended the third-annual Kansas City Regional Climate Action Summit earlier this month. 

The sold-out event organized by Climate Action KC showcased the region’s climate action efforts through featured speakers, discussions, musical performances and a Climate Expo. 

The summit was held at Rockhurst University and focused on opportunities and solutions available in the coming decades as part of the 2050 net zero emissions goal outlined in the Kansas City Regional Climate Action Plan. The plan is a voluntary framework designed to help leaders, businesses, organizations and residents identify and implement strategies that make sense for their communities.

The Sept. 9 event featured more than 30 speakers, including local elected officials, corporate leaders and climate advocates. Kansas City-based musical acts The Phantastics and The Stinging Nettles Band performed. The event also raised over $100,000 to support Climate Action KC programs and initiatives. 

Climate workshops

In the days leading up to the summit, MARC held two workshops to help establish a regional view of climate-related funding prospects.

More than 160 eligible federal funding applicants and other project champions attended the workshops. The first workshop focused on resilience, including green infrastructure, food systems and the economy. The other focused on mitigation, including transportation, energy generation and building efficiency. 

The aim of these sessions was to support the development of a regional priority climate action plan for projects that accomplish both climate change mitigation and resilience. Participants received guidance on how to build a successful coalition for upcoming grant applications and how to maintain momentum.