Resilient Boynton

“Building a Sustainable Tomorrow”

As climate change continues to evolve in South Florida, we will see an increase in coastal flooding due to sea level rise, stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and frequent extreme heat days. These threats will impact residents, infrastructure, the environment, and the economy. To effectively address climate change, it is important to develop and implement a diverse portfolio of adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Resilient Boynton is an initiative designed to build a community that can not only withstand the impacts of climate change, but quickly rebound from hardships such as natural disasters, economic dislocations, health epidemics, and unaffordable housing. Resilient communities are able to direct resources to increase preparedness, mitigation, and response capabilities for all types of hazards. Collaboration with our residents, local government, community-based organizations, the private sector, and more, will allow us to build a more sustainable future.

Figure from the Coastal Resilience Partnership of Southeast Palm Beach County Multi-Jurisdictional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, July 2021.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the main contributors to the changing climate, sea-level rise, and frequency of extreme weather events. The City of Boynton Beach is partaking in the collective efforts of numerous cities across the world in pledging to reduce greenhouse gases. Simultaneously, Boynton Beach is taking measures to adjust and adapt to climate change.

The greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the City of Boynton Beach are as follows:

50% reduction levels by 2035
Net zero GHG emissions by 2050

A city’s GHGs are classified into three scopes for reporting purposes:

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions that occur within the city
Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from the use of grid-supplied electricity, heat, or cooling
Scope 3: Other GHG emissions that occur outside the city as a result of activities taking place within the city

King Tides

King Tides are unusually high tides that typically occur each fall as a result of natural variations in atmospheric and oceanic conditions. These tides can produce local “sunny day” flooding, or flooding that occurs even though there is no rain.

Boynton Beach’s low-lying, coastal communities are vulnerable to tidal flooding, which is likely to become more frequent and severe as sea levels rise. The City regularly maintains storm drains and catch basins, and has installed tidal valves in affected neighborhoods to reduce the impacts of high tides.

Sea level rise is caused by two factors related to climate change: added water from melting ice sheets & glaciers and the expansion of sea water as it warms. In Southeast Florida, sea level is expected to rise 5 to 13 inches by 2040 and 16 to 46 inches by 2070.

This will result in the following impacts:

Increased coastal flooding
Increased inland flooding due to impaired stormwater infrastructure
Increase in insurance cost
Decreased property values and tax base

Sea Level Rise Resources:

Why is sea level rise important to me?

Sea Level Rise Countywide Vulnerability Analysis Map

Palm Beach County Mapping Tools

How to prepare for King Tides events:

Move your vehicles to higher ground before the start of a king tide event
Have sand bags on hand
Review your flood insurance policy, or consider acquiring flood insurance
Identify alternative routes and do not drive through flooded areas
Remove garbage and recycling bins from the curb as soon as possible when expecting a king tide event
Consider obtaining an elevation certificate from a licensed flood insurance o Find more Flood information on the City of Boynton’s Public Safety Department webpage o Visit the Palm Beach County’s Department of Emergency Management for Flood Tips

Resources:

2019 Unified Sea Level Rise Projection for Southeast Florida
EPA King Tides Fact Sheet § What Causes Tides?
Florida’s Sea Level Is Rising

Partnerships

With the help of partnerships such as the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP) of Southeast Palm Beach County, the Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact (Compact), the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN), the Florida Sustainability Directors Network (FSDN), and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, Boynton Beach is committed to accelerating climate action through innovative solutions in resilience and sustainability.

The City aims to implement effective, efficient, and innovative strategies informed by recent developments in sustainability and climate resilience.

The City of Boynton Beach is part of the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP) of Southeast Palm Beach County, made up of 7 municipalities and the county. The CRP works together to plan and implement climate adaptation strategies. To learn more about this partnership visit Costal Resilience Partnership webpage.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

In 2021, the CRP completed a multi-jurisdictional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA). The CCVA evaluated different community assets to determine which ones are vulnerable to climate threats and identified adaptation strategies to be implemented. A summary of the assessment can be found in the Executive Summary and the full report here.

Adaptation Strategies

The Vulnerability Assessment identified 32 adaptation strategies specific to the City of Boynton Beach. These strategies are broken down into 6 categories:

Infrastructure
Land Use, Zoning, Building Codes and Standards
Planning, Policy, and Management
Capacity Building
Public Outreach
Funding and Finance

Personal Adaptation Strategies that you can adopt to make your property more resilient to climate change.

Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact (Compact)

The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (Compact) is a partnership between Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties. The Compact is aimed to work collaboratively to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions, implement adaptation strategies, and build climate resilience across the Southeast Florida region. Instituted in 2010, the Compact established Southeast Florida as one of the nation’s earliest leaders to conceive of and formalize a collaborative regional approach to address climate change and continues to do so today.

In 2012, the Compact developed a Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) and subsequent Climate Action Pledge to allow local and tribal governments to commit to a collaborative approach to climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. It is a voluntary framework designed to align, guide, and support the acceleration of local and regional climate action in Southeast Florida toward a shared vision of a low-carbon, healthy, prosperous, more equitable, and more resilient region. In 2022, the RCAP and Climate Action Pledge were revised to streamline efforts and provide recommendations to advance the objectives of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while strengthening the adaptive capacity and climate resilience of the region’s communities, institutions and economy.

The City of Boynton Beach has long exhibited leadership on climate and sustainability, having been at the forefront of adopting the initial RCAP document, development of a citywide Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, establishment of green programs, and creation of a sustainability program that reaches into several different aspects of the City. In 2023, the City of Boynton Beach adopted the revised Climate Action Pledge (Resolution No. R23-168) to strengthen the City's climate leadership by working towards aligning the City's individualized efforts with the regional framework established in the Compact's RCAP.

Climate change poses an immense threat to the region, but addressing climate change holds enormous promise to transform Southeast Florida into a more resilient, equitable, and thriving home for all.

Resources

The Global Covenant of Mayors and CDP

In 2018, the City of Boynton Beach elevated its commitment to climate leadership by joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (Resolution No. R18-030). The Global Covenant (GCoM) is an alliance of more than 9,200 cities and local governments, in 132 countries around the world, with a shared long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change. The GCoM aims to advance city-level transition to a low emission and climate-resilient society by serving as a nexus across cities, city networks, research institutions, philanthropies, and the private sector.

GCoM cities must report their climate data and actions annually on an official reporting platform. In 2019, GCoM partners ICLEI and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released a unified reporting system to streamline and standardize reporting across cities. CDP and ICLEI review cities’ submissions, coordinate amendments, and award GCoM badges for Climate Mitigation and Climate Adaptation across three phases: Mitigation Inventory, Target, and Plan; and Adaptation Assessment, Goal, and Plan. Both CDP and ICLEI provide ongoing technical assistance to facilitate the City’s climate action planning progress.

In addition, CDP provides feedback in the form of a scorecard rating cities’ progress on climate action ranging from D (Disclosure) to C (Awareness) to B (Management) to A (Leadership). In 2023, Boynton Beach received a “B” score for our understanding the main local risks and impacts of climate change as well as having plans and actions in place to adapt and/or reduce these effects.

A copy of the feedback report is here.