Denver city leaders are seeking public input for a newly released draft of climate action recommendations that could impact local environmental policies for generations to come.

The recommendations were made by the Denver Climate Action Task Force, which planned to gather community input through a series of public meetings but has since had to move the process online because of the coronavirus.

“We are asking for your opinion on the task force’s recommendations to help us determine if these actions will demonstrate Denver’s leadership and willingness to face head-on the causes of climate change and reduce the harm it causes our communities, economy and natural assets,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a video promoting the online forum, which is open from April 20 through April 30.

Hancock formed the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency last year alongside Denver City Council, and appointed Grace Rink as its leader to address “with urgency” the effects of climate change.

“The climate task force process and your input, as the public, into it are critical for our city to be able to set the right goals and align our goals on carbon emission to the latest science that’s out there so that we can address this global crisis,” City Council President Jolon Clark said in his promotional video.

All 13 council members made videos to promote the online forum and express support of climate action.

“Now, we are all connected as a world in ways that we haven’t been in my lifetime,” Councilwoman At Large Robin Kniech said in her video. “We understand that what happens in one part of our world affects the other, whether it’s health of our bodies or health of our planet. And those two are really connected. Right now, we’re fighting a virus that affects people’s respiratory systems.”

Kniech filmed her video outside in North Park Hill, “one of the areas in Denver that has a higher rate of asthma that has affected particularly communities of color, including Latino and African American residents,” she said.

The Climate Action Task Force over several months met to develop a plan that sets environmental goals across six areas: transportation, buildings and homes, electricity, consumption and waste, adaptation and funding.

Twenty-six members sit on the task force, which includes representatives from the Sierra Club, Denver Metro Association of Realtors, Xcel Energy, the International Indigenous Youth Council and Denver Streets Partnership, among many others.

“Denver will be a model for the nation and world by working urgently to create, pass, and implement bold policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (based on 2005 levels) 40% by 2025, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2040 or sooner, centering and investing in our frontline communities, and inspiring people in our city to embrace sustainability as a value,” the task force said in a statement.

To read more about the proposed climate action recommendations and provide input, visit: denverclimateaction.consider.it.