Cole Calls for Stronger Pasadena Climate Action After Heat Wave

The brutal heat wave that gripped the region is the “new normal,” Councilmember Rick Cole said in an email newsletter Tuesday, calling for Pasadena to take more aggressive action to address climate change.

“We’ve always had hot summers in Pasadena, but the inexorable upward creep of temperatures is happening globally,” Cole wrote. “The last ten years have seen the highest average temperatures in recorded history.”

Cole said Pasadena must do its part to slow climate change while also preparing for increasingly hot and dry conditions.

“We need to do our share to slow this dire trend, but we also need to adapt to the reality,” Cole wrote.

He said those efforts should include recharging the groundwater basin, planting more trees, ensuring residents have access to air conditioning, changing how people get around and building climate-resilient infrastructure.

Driven by human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, which release heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by about 1.5°C to 2°F since the late 19th century according to NASA.

Cole also criticized the city’s record on climate planning, saying Pasadena has been “complacent about this growing threat.”

Pasadena adopted its Climate Action Plan in 2018, but Cole said the plan has not been monitored since 2019.

The City Council unanimously adopted a climate resolution in 2023 declaring “that climate change is an emergency that threatens the health and welfare of our city, region, state, nation, and the environment” and committing Pasadena to “environmental stewardship and continued leadership in sustainability.”

But Cole said the resolution did not specify additional actions beyond achieving 100% carbon-free energy for the city-owned utility by 2030.

“We still have work to do to achieve that goal, but it’s past time for comprehensive climate action,” Cole wrote. “That’s the only way to ensure Pasadena has a brighter future, not just a hotter one.”