Overview
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The CEAP quantifies historical and current GHG emissions, reduction targets, and the projected impact of CEAP strategies. Although the City government does not have direct control over most of the community’s emissions, it has significant influence over these through sources, practices, services and regulations, and indirectly through policies, land use decisions, local building codes, incentives, assistance, outreach and education.
Use the buttons below to review the Climate and Environmental Action Plan and accompanying Appendices using the buttons below.
The City’s targets:
42% reduction in GHG emissions relative to 2010 by 2030
85% reduction in GHG emissions relative to 2010 by 2045
The chart above shows the community’s GHG emissions over the past decade. As can be seen from the chart, transportation and natural gas are the largest sources of emissions now and have been since 2018 when the City decided to switch to Clean Power Alliance (CPA) as its default electricity supplier with a 100% renewable energy. Currently almost 80% of residents and 75% of commercial entities in the City subscribe to 100% clean electricity through CPA. This is the primary reason for the large reduction seen in our emissions since 2018.
The chart above shows past emissions and projections, which are modelled from 2021 to 2045 using growth based on the General Plan 2045 Update, and State regulations like the increasing amount of carbon-free electricity on the electric grid, the improved energy efficiency of new buildings, and the fuel efficiency standards of new vehicles. A 36% reduction in GHG emissions over 2010 values is projected by 2030 and a 41% reduction by 2045. These show reductions over current values but fall short of the City’s targets.
In order to meet the City (and State’s) 2030 target, a further 15 percentage point reduction in GHG emissions is needed. Combined with State regulations, the strategies identified in the CEAP address this required reduction. Strategies are divided into four primary focus areas – Building (and Operations) Energy (BE), Transportation (TR), Solid Waste (SW) and Water (WA). In addition, other strategies address environmental (EN) issues such as conservation, habitat support, and air quality that do not necessarily result in direct GHG reductions.
Use the drop-down menu under “Focus Areas” to find the strategies for each area.
Successful implementation of the measures identified in this Plan are projected to have a combined effect as shown in the chart below, and will meet the City’s 42% emissions reduction goal by 2030.
Chart showing historical and projected Citywide GHG emissions after successful implementation of CEAP strategies and the emission targets for 2030 and 2045.
CEAP measures are projected to reduce emissions by 59% by 2045, which falls short of ours (and the State’s) 85% reduction target. So clearly there will be more work to do, and likely we will need some help from the State.
This is the City’s first climate action plan and greenhouse gas inventory reporting, and represents a starting point for action. The CEAP will be re-visited every five years, providing an opportunity to update projections and strategies in the light of expected new State regulations. With the rapid evolution of technologies and State, Federal, and indeed global, support for achieving these long-term reductions, we fully expect that we will have more tools in our toolbox for getting to where we need to be by mid-century.