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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 19 - Climate Resilience City Manager Office https://www.santa-ana.org/cm Item # 19 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report May 18, 2021 TOPIC: Climate Resilience AGENDA TITLE: Receive and File Informational Report Relating to Climate Resilience Policies RECOMMENDED ACTION Receive and file an informational report relating to climate resilience policies. DISCUSSION Introduction At the March 2, 2021 City Council meeting, Councilmember Lopez added a discussion item to the meeting agenda: Discuss and Consider Directing City Manager to Direct Staff to Research and Bring to the City Council within 60 Days a Resolution Declaring a Climate Emergency, Committing to Policies Opposing Fossil Fuel Expansion and Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition as Part of the SAFE Cities Movement, and Endorsing the Call for a Global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. While members of the City Council engaged in a thorough discussion about this topic, there was not a consensus among the City Council to move forward with a resolution for consideration. However, there was substantial discussion on this item and questions were posed to staff, including the following: (1) If cities not to use fossil fuels, what is the proposed energy material to be used to meet the City’s energy needs? (2) What are the City’s current energy costs for electricity and natural gas, on a yearly basis? (3) What is the cost to upgrade the City’s existing utility infrastructure, to replace natural gas and other fossil fuels with electricity? (4) Where would the City look to pay for these initiatives? (5) What is the plan for resiliency in case of an emergency or natural disaster that disrupts the delivery of energy? Considering and responding to such questions would require a substantial amount of City resources (for example, funding to hire a series of third-party consultants to conduct a study and use relevant data to produce meaningful findings). At this time, there is no staff direction to conduct such a study. However, staff has prepared the following information to respond to the inquiries posed by members of the City Council. Climate Resilience May 18, 2021 Page 2 1 7 3 6 Climate Change The term climate refers to the general weather conditions of a place over many years. For example, Santa Ana’s climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall. The summer months of June to September average a daytime high of 83 °F and a nighttime low of 63 °F. The winter months of December to March average a daytime high of 70 °F and a nighttime low of 48 °F. Rainfall averages about 13.6 inches per year, most of which falls from November through April. While Santa Ana’s weather may vary slightly over time, its climate generally remains consistent. This slight variation is more commonly associated with changes in the weather. Unlike slight changes in the weather, climate change is a significant variation of average weather conditions. Examples of climate change include conditions becoming warmer, wetter, or drier—over several decades or more. What differentiates climate change from natural weather variability is that climate change is longer-term. And while “climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably, global warming—the recent rise in the global average temperature near the earth’s surface—is just one aspect of climate change. Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. The greenhouse effect occurs when certain gases (commonly referred to as “greenhouse gas emissions”) in the atmosphere block heat from escaping Earth, thereby raising Earth’s overall temperature. Some of the most commonly occurring greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. While the consequences of increasing greenhouse gas emissions are difficult to predict, below are likely consequences: On average, Earth will become warmer. Earth will experience more frequent extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, floods, wildfires, extreme temperatures, and more. Warmer conditions will likely lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer. Elevated carbon dioxide levels may increase plant growth. However, other factors, such as changing temperatures, ozone, and water and nutrient constraints, may more than counteract any potential increase in yield. Among the evidence for rapid climate change is a global rise in temperature, the warming of the ocean, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreat, decreased snow cover, a rise in sea level, declining Arctic sea ice, extreme events and ocean acidification. Observable evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time. Climate change will certainly have a devastating impact on all of Earth’s ecosystems. Climate Resilience May 18, 2021 Page 3 1 7 3 6 Global Response to Climate Change: The Paris Agreement The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement generated strong momentum for global collaboration. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties in Paris on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by 2050. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science. The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries. By 2020, countries submit their plans for climate action known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their Greenhouse Gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in the NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures. In the United States’ NDC, the U.S. government is setting an economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030. To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit by 2020 long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS). LT-LEDS provide the long-term horizon to the NDCs. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory. Nevertheless, they place the NDCs into the context of countries’ long-term planning and development priorities, providing a vision and direction for future development. The U.S. set a goal of achieving an 80- percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of its LT-LEDS. California’s Response to Climate Change Among U.S. states, California has been a pioneer in advancing climate resilience policies, such as implementing the world’s first vehicle emissions regulations in 1996, the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act to return to 1990 emissions levels by 2020, policies to double energy efficiencies in homes, factories, and businesses, and more. Moving past 2020 to 2030, former Governor Jerry Brown established an ambitious 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels, offering policy approaches ranging from increasing the use of renewable energy, to sequestering carbon in lands, to reducing the petroleum used in the vehicle sector. Throughout the Climate Resilience May 18, 2021 Page 4 1 7 3 6 state, individuals, communities, businesses and land managers are taking on the challenge to address these climate goals with grants and incentives from governments and foundations, and voluntary and regulatory action. More recently, on April 23, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom took action to phase out oil extraction in California. More specifically, Governor Newsom directed the state’s Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to initiate regulatory action to end the issuance of new permits for hydraulic fracturing (commonly referred to as “fracking”) by January 2024. Additionally, Governor Newsom requested that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) analyze pathways to phase out oil extraction across the state by no later than 2045. Under today’s directive, CalGEM will immediately initiate the rulemaking to halt the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024. Additionally, CARB will evaluate how to phase out oil extraction by 2045 through the Climate Change scoping plan, the state’s comprehensive, multi-year regulatory and programmatic plan to achieve required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing Climate Change in Santa Ana Climate Action Plan The City of Santa Ana has taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve resources citywide. As a result, Santa Ana’s per capita emissions are lower compared to other California cities and the State. Energy efficiency and sustainability have been guiding principles to ensure that the actions taken today preserve the ability to meet the needs of future generations. In 2014, the Santa Ana City Council adopted the following emissions reduction goals: For community-wide emissions, the reduction goal is 15 percent below the baseline year 2008 by 2020, and 30 percent below the baseline year 2008 by 2035. For municipal operations emissions, the reduction goal is 30 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2035. Consequently, in December 2015 the Santa Ana City Council adopted the Santa Ana Climate Action Plan. The purpose of the Climate Action Plan is to develop and implement strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from City operations and the community. These strategies include using energy and water more efficiently, increasing renewable energy, enhancing access to sustainable transportation modes, recycling waste, and building sustainable communities. These actions benefit the community by boosting the local economy, reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, lowering energy use and cost, and improving the quality of life.The Climate Action Plan represents the City of Santa Ana’s commitment to improving quality of life by reducing carbon pollution, both from its own operations and from the community as a whole. Climate Resilience May 18, 2021 Page 5 1 7 3 6 The Climate Action Plan identifies a comprehensive list of calculated measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Below is a summary. Transportation and Land Use Measures Development of local retails service nodes Local residential nodes near retail and employment Traffic signal synchronization program Local employment nodes near residential and retail areas End of trip facilities in new projects  Safe routes to schools Design guidelines for external and internal bike/pedestrian/transit connectivity Adjust parking ratios Communitywide bike sharing stations Municipal operations measures Communitywide Energy Measures Property assessed clean energy (PACE) Financing--Commercial and Residential SCE Small and Medium Business Direct Install Solar photovoltaic systems - new private installs SCE and SCG residential and commercial programs Weatherization Streetlight purchase and retrofit Benchmarking and retrocommissioning Title 24 energy efficiency standards - commercial and residential Solar hot water heating systems for laundromats Green business challenge program Municipal operations measures Municipal Operations Measures Building energy efficiency retrofits Street lighting LED retrofits Retrocommissioning Water pump retrofits Solar photovoltaic systems Vending machine retrofits Solid Waste, Water, and Wastewater Measures AB 341 commercial and multifamily recycling Food waste digestion Rainwater harvesting Turf removal Climate Resilience May 18, 2021 Page 6 1 7 3 6 The implementation of these measures are on-going. Through staffing, partnerships, outreach, education, and evaluation, the City will continue its work toward achieving its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Draft General Plan Update and Conservation Element In addition to the Climate Action Plan, the City’s Draft General Plan Update includes policies and implementation actions that promote sustainability and furthers the City Climate Action Plan objectives. For instance, Sustainability is one of the five community Core Values within the Draft General Plan, described as follows: “Santa Ana values land use decisions that benefit future generations, plans for the impacts of climate change, and incorporates design practices at all levels of the planning process”. The draft Conservation Element is an example of the proposed policies and actions that support environmental sustainability and the CAP objectives. These include implementation actions regarding air quality planning, encouraging LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) / Envision certification of buildings, updating the Citywide Design Guidelines to include energy conservation principles, partnerships for funding energy projects, exploring clean alternative energy technologies, and reducing the carbon footprint through the expansion of the City’s urban forest. The City continues to be engaged in federal, state, local, and applicable laws and regulations relating to climate resilience. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT As this item is an informational report only, an environmental impact analysis has not been completed. FISCAL IMPACT As this item is an informational report only, there is no fiscal impact associated with it. EXHIBIT(S) Submitted By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager