Climate Committee Update
The Climate Committee continues to make great progress on the Climate Project, which includes Climate Action and Adaptation planning. The group developed a list of stakeholders to contact to gather and share information. Committee members reached out to many community organizations, including the Rotary Club, Carmel Residents’ Association, Friends of Mission Trail Nature Preserve, Chamber of Commerce, and local high schools and universities. The Committee also reached out to utilities, regional agencies, and professional organizations including the Carmel Area Wastewater District, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, PG&E, Central Coast Community Energy, Monterey Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, United States Geological Survey, Monterey Fire Department, and Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG).
Since September 2020, the Committee has been holding a series of monthly presentations from partner agencies and experts on various Climate Action and Adaptation topics. Since the last update to City Council in December 2020, the Climate Committee has hosted the following presentations:
- United States Geological Survey on a model of sea level rise and coastal storm impacts on the Carmel Coast
- Public Works Director on the Storm Drain Master Plan and readiness of the drainage system for climate change
- Monterey Regional Waste Management District on their greenhouse gas reduction strategies
- Monterey Peninsula Water Management District on the resilience of our water supply system
- Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments on the 2018 greenhouse gas inventory
- Central Coast Community Energy on their climate action efforts and energy procurement strategy
The Climate Committee has continued to formulate summaries of the issues and data gaps identified in those presentations. The Committee determined that there are two areas where further progress and decision-making will require consultant technical support:
- To forecast greenhouse gas emissions and quantify emission reduction strategies, as required to develop a CEQA-certified Climate Action Plan (CAP), and
- To evaluate the resilience of the City’s coastal infrastructure to sea level rise, including sea walls, revetments, and bluffs.
The Committee also discussed which consultant technical support should be a higher priority. The Committee determined that the greenhouse gas forecast and emission reduction quantification was a higher priority because the Climate Action planning part of the project is on hold until such technical support is obtained, as shown in the work plan in Attachment 1.
State Mandates and Guidelines for Climate Action
The impacts of climate change pose a growing threat to California’s economy, environment, and public health. As a result, the State has established greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets in Assembly Bill (AB) 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which were further expanded by Senate Bill (SB) 32 in 2016. These targets include:
- 40% reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2030
- 80% reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050
These targets were strengthened by Executive Order B-55-18, which established a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, consistent with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report.
The State also established that California communities need to respond to climate change both through policies that promote adaptation and resilience, and by significantly reducing GHG emissions. In 2007, with the passage of SB 97, the Legislature guided the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to amend California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines to require the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in public projects. These guidelines went into effect in 2010 and were expanded in 2018.
Specifically, the CEQA guidelines require that municipalities evaluate GHG emission impacts against a set of emission targets as part of the CEQA analysis prepared for their General Plan updates, and to take affirmative, decisive action to reduce and control these emissions. GHG emission reduction plans can be either a stand-alone Climate Action Plan or directly part of the General Plan itself.
This GHG analysis will be required for our next General Plan update. As elements of the City’s General Plan are approaching 20 years old and the Plan’s Housing Element is due to be updated in 2023, it would be beneficial to have a CAP completed prior to that in order to guide the Housing Element update and any subsequent elements to be updated. While a standalone CAP is not required to meet the CEQA Greenhouse Gas Emissions analysis requirement, it provides a comprehensive approach that meets the requirement in a streamlined and efficient manner. A CAP also minimizes the potential for internal conflicts within the General Plan.
A CAP meeting the CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.5(b) can also be utilized to streamline the GHG emissions analysis for plans and projects with buildout years through the plan's target year. Projects that are consistent with the demographic forecasts and land use assumptions used in the CAP would be able to utilize the City’s CEQA GHG Emissions Analysis to demonstrate consistency with the CAP’s GHG emissions reduction strategy. If deemed consistent, these projects would be found to result in less-than-significant impact to community GHG emissions.
Consultant Support Needed
The Climate Committee will need consultant support for the following technical tasks that cannot be completed by staff or Committee members:
- Develop a forecast of future emissions under a business-as-usual scenario.
- Evaluate and summarize the impact of anticipated regional, state, and federal policies and programs on GHG emission reductions and incorporate those into the forecast as appropriate.
- Assist in identification and selection of appropriate GHG reduction strategies for the City.
- Quantify/forecast GHG reduction strategies selected by the Committee.
- Summarize emissions inventory and forecasting methodology and findings in a concise GHG emissions study report.
- Present the results of the report to the Climate Committee and City Council.
Climate Action in other Municipalities
The following municipalities of the Monterey Bay area already have Climate Action Plans, which incorporate GHG emissions studies:
- City of Santa Cruz (adopted in 2012, update in 2021)
- City of Capitola (adopted in 2015)
- County of Santa Cruz (adopted in 2013)
- City of Watsonville (adopted in 2015, in process of being updated)
- City of Monterey (adopted in 2016)
- County of Monterey (adopted in 2013, in process of being updated)
- City of Gonzales (adopted in 2013, updated in 2018)
The following municipalities do not currently have completed Climate Action Plans:
- City of Salinas (the City released a Request For Proposals for developing a Climate Action Plan and Environmental Impact Report for comprehensive General Plan Update in January 2021).
- City of Marina (General Plan adopted in 2000 with section amendments up to 2010; Local Coastal Plan update in process is incorporating climate change analysis).
- City of Seaside (General Plan adopted in 2004; update currently in progress)
- City of Pacific Grove (General Plan adopted in 1994)