CLEVELAND — More than a year ago, Cleveland inaugurated a new, fresh face to the office of mayor in Justin M. Bibb. A born and raised Clevelander, Bibb has seen the local and regional effects climate change have had on the city he calls home.
After first sitting down with Bibb last April, 3News meteorologist Jason Mikell recently spoke with the mayor again to find out how the city is doing, if there have been any hurdles, discuss successes, and asl how the Biden administration's infrastructure bill affects the city and the local government's climate agenda.
Mikell also inquired about the scope of local businesses buying in, large and small, as well as the mayor's thoughts on East Palestine and the Norfolk Southern derailment that could lead towards future climate issues for that area.
You can watch the full interview in the player below, and keep scrolling for a full transcript of the conversation:
JASON MIKELL: "So, Mayor Bibb, it's been a little bit more than a year, sir, since you've been in office. So many things have happened. Our city is growing vastly and we're making lots of changes courtesy of you, sir.
"I want to begin by talking about the scope of this interview in terms of climate change, what that looks like for the city, and has it still been a top issue of your administration since being in office?"
MAYOR JUSTIN M. BIBB: "Absolutely. Climate justice and the work we're doing to advance sustainability is at the heart of everything we do here at City Hall, and this work has become even more important because of the work that I've taken on nationally as the vice chair of U.S. Climate Mayors, and we are truly at a historical inflection point right now in this nation for a couple of reasons.
"First and foremost, for the first time in our nation's history, we have a president who has put the largest federal investment through the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate change, and we in Cleveland must lead the way to get our fisher resources. Secondly, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, this will create an historic opportunity for us to have better roads, better bridges, and make sure that the investments we make around transportation are really focused on sustainability and climate justice, and considering we are a legacy city in Cleveland with so many infrastructure needs is so important that we do it in a green and responsible way.
"One of the things that I think we look and we can tangibly see here and around our city is the need for those infrastructure changes, whether they're bridges, whether they're roads, whether they're parks, whether they're abandoned buildings."
JASON: "How do you feel the Inflation Reduction Act and all the things that the Biden administration is doing can positively enhance and help our city?"
BIBB: "Well, the first thing that I'm really excited about is the investment that the Biden-Harris administration has been making to really extend the benefits of the electric vehicle market across the country. Several weeks ago, we did a ribbon cutting for the first ever EV charging station in the east side of Cleveland — the Lee-Harvard neighborhood — and that's important for a couple of reasons.
"No. 1, it shows that we as a city and as a nation must make sure that the benefits of the new green economy are broad-based and focused on underserved communities of color, but secondly, it also shows that, you know, having an electric vehicle will help put more money in people's pockets. In our city, it's going to lower gas prices, which allows them to maybe invest more in their home, invest more in their college savings account, and we want to ensure that we have the right infrastructure — in terms of the electric vehicles we're seeing across our state and across the nation — that we have the right infrastructure in Cleveland to take advantage of these amazing benefits.
"I think, also, one of the things that the city is looking for this administration to do is improve upon getting those accessible things to the underserved communities, such as electric vehicles or the even educating on the process of tax credits."
JASON: "Is there a plan in place with your Administration to do such things?"
BIBB: "There have been a couple of things that we've been able to accomplish in our short time since taking office last January. First and foremost, we actually passed our complete and green streets ordinance in the city of Cleveland, which calls for more trans-oriented development in our city, more protected bike lanes in our city to ensure that we have the right investments to have safe streets for pedestrians where we truly prioritize people over cars.
"The second thing I'm really excited about is the work that we've been leading with local partners around extending the benefits of solar panels to low and moderate-income families in our city. We have the most — or we are one of the most — energy-burdened cities in the country right now in Cleveland, where many of our residents can't afford basic utility costs. So, we can lower the cost of that energy for our residents. That's going to go a long way to address poverty for working class Clevelanders in our city.
"The other thing that I continue to be excited about but I recognize we have a lot more work to do is around our lead paint crisis. As you know, last year we authorized roughly $13 million from our American Rescue Plan investments we got from President Biden to help fully fund our lead safe housing endowment in the city of Cleveland. We leveraged an additional $50 million investment from the Cleveland Clinic, and we're making good strides to make sure that there is no house in this city that is ever poisoned by lead paint again. Now, we've had some challenges with workforce issues in terms of getting the labor to abate these homes. We've also seen rising costs and construction all across the marketplace, but I believe that we have the right investment, the right community collaboration, and the right sense of urgency to address this issue in our city.
"The other thing we made material progress around is through investments we've gotten from Gov. DeWine. We made sure that we got rid of every lead paint, or lead water pipe rather, in every day care facility in Cleveland. That's a big deal. So, there's no longer any day care facility in our city that is going to be plagued by lead water lines, and so we're using every resource we can to address these structural issues related to climate change and climate justice in our city."
JASON: "If you can give the city a rating — a grade letter rating, you know, such as something we traditionally see in grade schools — on lead, on the climate crisis, on the process and the progress the city is making, what would you give the city?
BIBB: "A B-minus."
JASON: "Why is that?"
BIBB: "Satisfactory progress, but we have a long way to go, and I think one of the things that we really need to focus on in the future is how we frame and talk about these issues.
"I was having a conversation with a leader through the Clinton Global Initiative, and we were meeting with mayors from across the country and really across the world, and Mayor Eric Adams from New York really framed this very nicely. He talked about the efforts they're trying to make in New York City with converting all of their public housing from gas stoves to electric stoves, and there was one tenant in public housing in New York who protested going to a brand new public housing facility with [an] electric stove. You know why? Because she was in charge of making the greens at church on Sunday, and she didn't trust the ability of that electric stove to make the greens in the same way that she was born and raised to make the greens for church after Sunday service. Now that might seem trite to most people, but if we don't find a way to bring people along —everyday, working class people along — around why climate change is important — how it affects their lived experience, how it affects their pocketbook, how it affects their safety and security in their communities — we won't be doing our job as leaders, and I think that's the big task ahead of me as mayor and other leaders from across the community and really across the nation. We have to change the narrative about what this means to everyday people."
JASON: "I think also, too, maybe that's an excellent example in my personal opinion of changing the misconception, the misnomer around things and products and tools that we have always used such as a gas stove to make our dinners. I was born and raised in Mississippi. I understand that; there's no trust there. It's interesting also with the New York mayor, Mayor Adams, and how he remarked on this particular instance. He actually had an interview not too long ago speaking about how New Yorkers can aid in the time of crisis and make those changes, and he spoke about the over consumption of meats. He personally made the switch to a plant-based diet because of a personal health issues. What do you say to that wrapping all of this around this one topic for Clevelanders?
BIBB: "Well, I'm personally not there yet, I applaud my brother and friend Eric Adams for his conversion to a plant-based diet. I love Mount Pleasant Barbecue way too much just to go there quite yet. But I would say this: What we eat matters, and we need to have a serious conversation — particularly in underserved communities of color — about what we eat and how that affects our community, how it affects our diet, how it affects our long-term health.
"The other thing that I think is important to note is the work that we must do as a city to bring us back to being the Forest City once again. You know, it was at one point in time that we had a tree canopy of over 90% in our city. Now, it's almost less than 18%, OK? When you look at it at a zip code level in our city, where we see the lowest levels of having trees is where we see the highest rates of asthma and the lowest air quality in our community. Where we see people living on heat islands is also where we see the highest rates of gun violence in Cleveland, and so climate change has a direct correlation to gun violence. Climate change has a direct correlation to the health care disparities that we see. Climate change has a direct correlation to economic opportunity and good paying jobs, and we must do a better job as a city and as a nation of making these connections."
JASON: "This is a two-part question for you, sir. Given what you just said the first question, have you had any, I guess, big corporate backing to help you with this initiative fighting you climate [change], and also too, how has the tree canopy project gone since receiving almost, I think, $1 million or so last year towards planting trees in the city and also fighting violence, seeing that direct correlation."
BIBB: "Yeah, I think we're off to a really solid start. We just recommission[ed] — for the first time in years — the city's tree commission, which is a major deal to get the right public and private sector buy-in to begin to reforest our city on a short and long-term basis. The other thing I would comment on is the work we must continue to do to engage the private sector. I am excited to see the work that GCP, our chamber of commerce, has done to really convene corporations around their own ESG goals and how to make the business case to address climate change in our community.
"Our foundations have been amazing partners — both the Cleveland Foundation and the Gund Foundation have been doing some great work, and getting the public sector elevated to address some of these concerns as well, too. A delegation of them went to Egypt last year. I attended virtually, but they really helped us elevate the conversation both at the city and the county level on the importance of climate change and what we need to do as a community — regionally, as well — to address climate justice issues."
JASON: "The Decarbonization Summit is coming up next month, and I know there's a lot of fanfare around that, you know, as far as climate enthusiasts and even meteorological enthusiasts. What is your goal of the summit? What do you hope to come out of this summit this year?"
BIBB: "Well, one of the things I want us to be able to do was, No. 1, really have tactical tangible actions we can come out of the summit with to really make sure we achieve our decarbonization goals long term. I think, secondly, making sure there is complete buy-in with all the key stakeholders around the sense of urgency we need to have around decarbonizing our community, and then thirdly really being clear about what our North Star is as a city in a region to really galvanize folks to hold people accountable.
"Having a plan is great, but if you don't have clear action plans a clear metrics to hold people accountable, we won't achieve our goals long term, and that'll be a big, big part of our strategy for this upcoming decarbonization summit."
JASON: "Scientists have released a report within the past couple weeks on greenhouse gas emissions and needing to cut that in half globally by 2030 in order to quote maintain a livable future for all. What are your thoughts on this? And with 2030 not being that far away, yeah, it is creeping up very quickly."
BIBB: "I would say, you know, we must meet these goals. You see, the weather events we've had over the last several years — whether it be the proliferation of intense hurricanes in the south, whether it be the intensity of our storms here in Northeast Ohio and in the Midwest, whether it be the power outages and the attacks on our power grids like you saw in Texas and like you see in California as well, too — it's critical that we not only rely on international bodies like the UN, but we are living in what I believe is the area of new localism where, you know, this change has to happen at the local level. And that's why I'm really excited about the work that I'm leading with U.S Climate Mayors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors as well, too, to really make sure that our mayors and small, medium, large-size cities across the country have clear plans to address our climate justice issues because climate is local.
"All issues are local. Now, we must do a better job of localizing these issues to really get the buy-in we need to achieve our long-term goals by 2030."
JASON: "I think also keeping that narrative that climate is local is something that is easily visible you know given what has happened recently with Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and South Mississippi with the new EF-4 tornado warning there obliterating the community there, the mild winter we've had here in Cleveland, the atmospheric rivers out west with the mudslides and the flooding, and even, you know, also recently having a couple tornadoes in LA County. [Have] there been any changes or any sought out changes or anything that you've noticed in terms of our emergency preparations in the event that there's some climate crises that happens here?"
BIBB: "Well, my cabinet continues to really brainstorm and do tabletop exercises around issues related to climate, whether it be a tornado, whether it be a major power outage — which we saw over the last couple of weeks here in Cleveland — and we want to make sure that we're following the best practices that we need to follow to ensure that our residents are safe, that they have the resources that they need, and that we're communicating with our state and federal partners to ensure we get the resources that we need in case of a climate crisis in our city."
JASON: "I think also, too, with Ohio being such an agricultural state, we've seen a rise in the pandemic-given food scarcity, the Cleveland food bank doing multiple drives and seeing a higher and higher need. Is this something that is important to you where you see as if we actively need to take more of a take charge role in the event that climate change affects our food issues here in the city?"
BIBB: "Absolutely. You know, you're seeing the dire impact that the change and the SNAP benefit is going to have on Clevelanders. This is going to affect us in a real way as the second-poorest big city in America with nearly 50% of our children living in poverty.
"I'm so excited about the work the food bank is leading. We're going to be doing mobile food pantries in our rec centers over the next couple of weeks to address this immediate change in the SNAP benefit for many of our residents, but long-term, the best thing we can do to address the food insecurity crisis is to create an economy that works for everybody. That's why I'm excited about the future work we're going to be doing around a multi-million dollar site development fund — particularly in the east side of Cleveland — to hopefully bring them back nearly 23,000 new jobs in the urban core. That's why we've been really focused on attracting new investment to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio to grow our population, to grow our tax base, because when people have a job, they have dignity. They can get out of poverty people, have a quality home to live in. They have hope, and all these things are related with climate being a key part of that critical wealth creation we need to focus on long-term."
JASON: "As a city, have you had any communication or experience working with other cities comparable to our size and to our makeup on their climate issues or climate crises? If so, what are those cities?"
BIBB: "Yeah, so right now I'm co-chairing the water equity task force with Cavalier Johnson, the Mayor of Milwaukee. I've also been engaged with the Environmental Defense Fund in Bloomberg and the Clinton Global Initiative really helping mid-sized cities like Cleveland create a playbook to make sure we have the right internal strategies and capacity to make sure we get our resources from the Inflation Reduction Act, and then the work that we're doing with the U.S Climate Mayors and the U.S Conference of Mayors really is an amazing Community to ensure that we have the right tools, the right learnings, and the right best practices to move Cleveland forward on all things related to climate change."
JASON: "Given what we've seen in the past couple months with East Palestine and the issues the residents have had there in that area and even in surrounding areas, we're not that far away here in Northeast Ohio — specifically Cleveland — with the possibility that there could be long-term climate agricultural issues for this community. What are your personal and professional thoughts and insights on this issue with the derailment and what these residents could be experiencing? What would that be like for Cleveland? If that happened here in Cleveland, what would you do?"
BIBB: "Well first, I want to say that it's going to be important that Congress holds Norfolk [Southern] and the entire railroad industry accountable for their actions. It's very clear that we need comprehensive legislation with good regulations in place to ensure that there are the right protocols and processes and guardrails in place to protect communities like Cleveland, where these trains are going through our city on a daily basis. I also want to applaud City Council — in particular Councilwoman Jenny Spencer — for really leading the committee meeting we had just last week as relates to how the train that derailed in East Palestine went through many parts of our city. We'll be sending a letter to Congress and to these railroad companies to make sure that the assets they own in Cleveland, that they put their money where their mouth is and help us make the right capital investments we need to fix these railroad lines.
"But I would say this: I continue to be confident in the work that Gov. DeWine, Sens. Vance and Brown have been leading as relates to these East Palestine crises, and we want to make sure that we do everything we can in coordination with the state and federal EPA to mitigate any issues we may see from a contamination perspective as we look forward to the rest of 2023."
JASON: "Your second year in office, what are some of the things ... that we can see from your Administration about this topic of climate change global warming, something perhaps we can mark and say, 'Oh, the Bibb administration did this?'"
BIBB: "Well we're going to be expanding our EV charging fleet for our public vehicles across the city of Cleveland, so I'm excited about that. We also are going to be announcing a new initiative to put more solar panels on city-owned buildings to lower our energy costs as a city, and I think the work we're leading with our Decarbonization Summit is going to be, I think, a major regional milestone to show residents that we're going to be very focused on having clear goals to hold ourselves accountable to not just be a leader in the region, but a leader in the nation to address climate justice issues."