Photo by Indianapolis Office of Sustainability. 
This week saw the first meeting of the newly established environmental committee.
The City-County Council approved the Environmental Sustainability Committee last year. The committee is headed by John Barth, Councilor of District 7.
“My goal today was to lay a base and to start putting information out there and start that process of really building depth of knowledge and experience for committee members and the future work we’ll be doing,” Barth said.
The meeting featured an update from AES, formerly IPL on its current status. Integrated resource planand to make the transition to more renewable energy. The company is currently holding several public meetings.
The new committee received an overview of the entire process. Thrive Plan, the city’s first action plan to create more resilience and sustainability through areas including energy use, natural resources, food and land use.
Morgan Mickelson, Office of Sustainability Director said that climate change is making Indianapolis wetter.
“We’ll see more days over 95 degrees. I’m sure you can all understand what kind of public health risk that is to our residents,” Mickelson said.
Stormwater infrastructure is also likely to be more affected by flooding.
According to the office’s statements, the city meets energy benchmarks. The city also has plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The committee will be discussing greenspace issues in Indianapolis at its next meeting.
The new committee will also be expected to address other topics such as the lack of a strong recycling program and environmental justice.
Jill Sheridan, policy reporter at WFYI, can be reached at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @JillASheridan.
