Asheville environmental activists fight for resolution at city council meeting

Click here for updates on this story

    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — An Asheville group took what they call a climate emergency to city council in hopes of passing a resolution on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020.

Sunrise Movement Asheville has had an ongoing conversation with city government over Resolution No. 20, a five-page document endorsing the declaration of a climate emergency and mobilization effort to restore a safe climate.

This comes after loud demonstration downtown where activists protested at Pack Square Park in December 2020.

Even louder protest took place outside the mayor and city managers office shortly after the downtown protest, including a sit-in that ultimately ended with no arrests, but a negotiated resolution with a key goal in mind.

Sunrise Movement Asheville’s spokesperson Alex Lines explained the group’s goal is moving forward with a mission.

“Every budget decision and every plan that we make as a city going forward is looking through the lens of adapting to the climate crisis,” Lines said. “The climate emergency resolution includes that commitment to looking at what we can do and what we can fund through our budget.”

That includes a significant goal of transitioning the city economy from fossil fuels by 2030, just ten years from now.

Smaller items on the list include extending city bus hours ahead of next year’s budget.

Mayor Esther Manheimer said the recent conversation adds to the urgency of the matter at hand.

“While we have awareness around climate change, this brings the needed urgency to the conversation,” Manheimer said.

Mayor Manheimer added Resolution No. 20 does hinge on cooperation far beyond city limits, saying it’s too much to leave all to taxpayers’ responsibility.

“When you ask me, is it doable, I can’t tell you for sure whether the state or the federal government will do their part, but I think that it is the city’s goal to do our part,” Manheimer said.

Spokesperson Alex Lines said that urgency is real and that the city’s commitment needs to be as well.

“Just passing a resolution that is purely for optics won’t get us there and it will further mislead the public into thinking we’re already doing something, which we’re really not,” Lines said.

Both Sunrise members and the city agreed getting state and federal governments on board is critical, but local money is very much a concern.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.