1. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY
Planning Commission
May 8, 2013

2. Policy Background Executive Order S-3-05 (2005):
Reduce statewide GHGs to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050
Assembly Bill (AB) 32 (2006):
Reduce statewide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (approximately 15% below 2008 levels)
California Air Resources Board to prepare plan to achieve target
AB 32 Scoping Plan (2008)
Roadmap to achieve AB 32 target
Encourages local governments to reduce GHG emissions consistent with statewide target

3. Policy Background Senate Bill (SB) 97 (2009)
Analyze and mitigate GHGs under CEQA
Jurisdictions can use Climate Action Plans to reduce impacts of individual projects
Plan Elements (CEQA Guidelines § ):
GHG inventory and forecast
Reduction target
Measures to meet target
Monitoring mechanism
Adopted in public process following environmental review
SB 97 - required that OPR, prepare, develop, and transmit develop guidelines for the mitigation of GHG emissions as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Natural Resources Agency adopted amendments to the CEQA Guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions on December 30, 2009.
While a CAP is not explicitly required by law (no legislative mandate), CEQA requires that the City prepare an environmental document that identifies and mitigates to the extent feasible all significant environmental impacts caused by implementation of a General Plan update. Since the General Plan update will allow development that will generate an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, it will likely cause a significant environmental impact related to this increase in emissions.
GHG inventory is the first step in developing a plan to mitigate emissions

4. Climate Action Plan would:
Defensibly demonstrate mitigation of GHG emissions
Streamline CEQA analysis of GHGs for future projects consistent with the General Plan and Climate Action Plan
Provide predictability
GHG Emissions Inventory is first step in developing a Climate Action Plan
The CAP will allow the City to mitigate this greenhouse gas emissions impact, while also demonstrating that the City is doing its part to meet State goals under AB 32. The CAP will also allow the City to streamline future development projects, since future projects that are consistent with the CAP will not require their own greenhouse gas emissions analysis under CEQA.
GHG Inventory - first step in designing a comprehensive approach to reducing GHG emissions is to conduct an inventory that identifies the origins of your agency’s (or community’s) greenhouse gas emissions originate. By understanding what activities generate the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, it is possible to prioritize subsequent activities to reduce the emissions in order to achieve the greatest reductions feasible.

5. GHG Inventory Purpose Purpose of GHG Emissions Inventory:
Provides understanding of major sources and greatest opportunities for reductions
Establishes baseline for tracking emissions trends, setting target, and assessing progress
Describes GHG emissions accounting and reporting principles
Helps establish a basis for developing mitigation strategies based on largest sources

6. Inventory Background
Draft GHG Emissions Inventory & Reduction Plan prepared in 2009
Concerns raised about draft reports:
URBEMIS program and its methodology
Inventory results substantially higher than other cities
GHG emissions from Rose Bowl exceptionally high
Coordination with General Plan Update
Reduction Plan lacked cost-savings data
Recommendation made to revise Inventory and separate from Reduction Plan
URBEMIS is a land use based model, appropriate for project-level assessment only.
Questioned the results of the calculations because they are substantially higher than results from other cities. In particular, transportation emissions and total per capita emissions were cited.

7. Revised Inventory Overview
City prepared a revised inventory that addresses Commission concerns
Uses ICLEI Clean Air Climate Protection software
Consistent with State-recommended protocols
ICLEI Local Government Operations Protocol (2010)
ICLEI Community Protocol (2012)

8. Revised Inventory Overview
Includes municipal operations and community-wide inventory
2009 baseline and 2020 and 2035 forecast
Coordinated with General Plan update and City traffic model
Emissions from Rose Bowl/Rose Parade events calculated separately
Best practices for potential inclusion in future Reduction Plan
Calendar year 2009 was identified as the baseline year due to the availability of more accurate land use and transportation data and to coordinate the GHG emissions inventory with the current General Plan update.
The revised inventory was coordinated with the traffic model used for the General Plan to ensure consistency.
Emissions from the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade were calculated separately based on a recommendation made by Caltech when they reviewed the inventory methodology and preliminary results

9. Revised Inventory Background
November 2011 Caltech peer reviewed methodology and preliminary results
Comments to add emissions from 10 missing city-owned properties
September 2012 staff directed Rincon Consultants to complete inventory and report
Incorporated emissions from 10 city-owned properties and Rose Bowl/Rose Parade

10. Inventory Results Community Total = 2,006,372 MT CO2e
Municipal Total = 124,096 MT CO2e

11. Community Inventory Results
Community Emissions 2,006,372 MT CO2e

12. Municipal Inventory Results
Municipal Emissions: 124,096 MT CO2e
Largest GHG emissions sector – electric power
Rose Bowl/Rose Parade = 3% of total

13. Community Forecast
If consumption trends continue the pattern observed in 2009 and accounting for projected growth in population, employment, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), GHG emissions are projected to grow by 4 percent (to 2,090,540 MT CO2e) in 2020 and 15 percent (to 2,306,118 MT CO2e) in 2035.
Why 2009 Baseline?
According to standard industry protocols for GHG emissions inventorying, the baseline year for a GHG emissions analysis is intended to provide a “performance datum” against which a community can compare current and future emissions, tracking progress. As stated in the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Local Government Operations Protocol (2010), it is best practice to compile an emissions inventory “for the earliest year for which complete and accurate data can be gathered.” The baseline year for AB 32 is calendar year However, required data from 1990 is often prohibitively difficult or impossible to collect (Local Government Operations Protocol 2010). Given that the priority for a CAP should be on practical and accurate results, the Local Government Operations Protocol states that it is more important that the baseline year be documented with enough detail to provide a good basis for local action planning than it is that all local governments produce an inventory with the same, stipulated base year (i.e., 1990). Additionally, it is often preferable to establish a base year several years in the past so as to be able to account for the emissions benefits of recent actions (Local Government Operations Protocol 2010).

14. Municipal Forecast
For the municipal operations forecast, emissions are projected to grow by 3 percent (to 128,070 MT CO2e) in 2020 and 7 percent (133,085 MT CO2e) in 2035.