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Tucson officials report progress on climate plan, secure nearly $94M in climate grants
Summary
City staff told the council they exceeded an internal implementation target for the Tucson Resilient Together (TRT) plan, advancing 76% of actions and securing about $94 million in climate-related grants and more than $121 million in local climate investments across departments.
The City of Tucson’s chief resilience officer and energy manager presented the first annual progress report on Tucson Resilient Together (TRT), reporting that departments had advanced more actions than the target set when the implementation strategy was adopted.
Chief Resilience Officer Fatima Luna said the city exceeded its initial implementation goal — advancing 76% of the TRT actions versus a 59% target — and departments had secured nearly $94 million in climate-related grant awards since the plan’s launch. The memorandum and presentation showed large award sources included the Federal Transit Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, HUD and state water infrastructure financing authorities.
City Energy Manager Michael Gansaro outlined solar and energy investments at city facilities and said the city is on track to meet an internal target (TRT “gold”) to install up to 30 megawatts of solar capacity across city-owned facilities when planned and contracted projects are accounted for. Staff also described exploration of microgrid opportunities — including study work around a potential microgrid at the Donna Liggins Center — and a public-facing energy dashboard to display near-real-time energy metrics.
On heat resilience, staff highlighted the city’s first Heat Action Roadmap, a heat-protection ordinance for city contractors and increased coordination for heat relief ahead of 2024’s summer season. The city distributed more than 900 heat-relief kits and hosted a first Southern Arizona heat summit; the next summit was scheduled for Feb. 1.
Luna and Gansaro emphasized cross-departmental investments, noting private and federal grants plus internal investments accounted for more than $121 million of climate-related projects across departments. Council members thanked staff for the progress and sought clarifications about a public carbon dashboard and the timing for real-time operational carbon metrics. Gansaro said the city is contracting to develop a real-time carbon reporting capability for city operations by the end of the calendar year.
Council asked staff to continue focusing on heat-mitigation work, resiliency hubs, and leveraging federal funds for long-term benefits. Staff said they would continue to expand public engagement and incorporate metrics into the dashboard and future annual reporting.
