NAU Climate Science & Solutions graduate students conducted research this semester on tools Flagstaff could use to meet equity goals and targets in the Flagstaff Carbon Neutrality Plan (CNP). Students will share what they learned about tools other cities use to incorporate equity into their decision-making processes, including an equity atlas—a common equity visualization tool. Students will also share information about demographic and climate indicators and data in Flagstaff, and their findings and recommendations for next steps. This research is an initial step in a much larger community conversation that will need to occur about how to best meet CNP goals and the needs of the Flagstaff community. 

Equity is one of the three primary CNP goals. The CNP defines equity as “ensuring the fair and just distribution of the benefits of climate action and striving to reduce the unequal burdens created by climate change”, and includes the following equity targets: 

• ES-1: Incorporate equity as a foundational element of every climate action the City develops and implements.  
• ES-3:  Design targeted climate policies and programs to serve disproportionately impacted communities first. 

To assist the Flagstaff Sustainability Office in meeting CNP equity goals, NAU graduate students researched how other cities incorporate equity in decision-making, as well as equity indicators and publicly available data in Flagstaff.  

In this presentation, staff and students will provide information on the following topics: 

• Equity commitments in the CNP  
• How equity tools could assist the Flagstaff Sustainability Office in meeting CNP equity commitments 
• How other cities incorporate equity in decision-making and the tools that they use, including an overview of equity atlases 
• The state of equity-related data in Flagstaff, including demographic and climate data. (Note: students did not collect any new data, but instead identified what data are already publicly available and where there might be gaps) 
• Demographic and climate equity indicators relevant to Flagstaff 
• Recommendations for next steps and community conversations to explore how an equity atlas could work in Flagstaff