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Home My WebLink About101121cabs01 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Kate Dean, Commissioner DATE: October 11, 2021 SUBJECT: Climate Action Committee Annual Update STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Climate Action Committee (CAC) was formed via joint resolution by the City of Port Townsend and Jefferson County in 2007 to " advise the County and the City in the implementation and updating of a Climate Action Plan". The CAC, with broad representation from local governments, utilities, private business, environmental groups and others, sets annual goals for mitigation and adaptation of climate change. Chair Cindy Jayne will be joined by CAC members Diane McDade and Kate Chadwick to report on the IPCC report, opportunities for greenhouse gas reduction, and other activities of the CAC since its last report to the BOCC in April 2020. ANALYSIS: This presentation will provide information about the activities of the CAC and include discussion of on- going and future efforts within the County to mitigate for and adapt to climate change impacts. FISCAL IMPACT: N/A RECOMMENDATION: The BOCC will be asked to consider new mitigation and adaptation goals for the County to adopt for the next biennium. REVIEWED BY: Mark McCauley terim County Administr D e Climate Action Committee Update to Board of County Commissioners TH OCTOBER11, 2021 Overview Climate Action Committee Activities since Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory was completed Brief Summary of Recent IPCC Report Summary of GHG Reduction Opportunities Update on Forest and Trees GHG Inventory Report in Progress CAC Outreach plan Climate Risk Screening Tool Goals for CAC Organizations Discussion and Next Steps History We last presented to you in April 2020 with the results of the 2018 GHG Inventory As discussed at that meeting, we held two community outreach zoom meetings after that in November 2020 (delayed due to COVID) In your packets a summary of the results of that community input (CAC Community Input slides.pdfwe here History In the GHG inventory, we found that transportation amounted to 66% of our GHG emissions countywide Since the inventory work, the committee has directed the work of volunteers that attended training for and modeling of GHG Reduction Opportunities, and that report was approved by the CAC in May 2021. Many, many thanks to our modeling volunteers! Cyndy Bratz, Dave Thielk, Cindy Jayne Additional work has been in progress re modeling the sequestration of our forests and trees, more on that later (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) 8-year consensus document (approved by 195 governments) on the current state of the climate Provides scientific basis to develop climate-related policies Not policy descriptive, not policy prescriptive First of several reports, final in 2022: The Physical Science Basis(Working Group I: this report) Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability(Working Group II) Mitigation(Working Group III) Key takeaways "LƷ źƭ ǒƓĻƨǒźǝƚĭğƌ ƷŷğƷ ŷǒƒğƓ źƓŅƌǒĻƓĭĻ ŷğƭ ǞğƩƒĻķ ƷŷĻ ğƷƒƚƭƦŷĻƩĻͲ ƚĭĻğƓ ğƓķ ƌğƓķ ŷĻ ǞƚƩƌķ Ǟźƌƌ ƦƩƚĬğĬƌǤ ƩĻğĭŷ ƚƩ ĻǣĭĻĻķ Њ͵Ў ķĻŭƩĻĻƭ /Ļƌƭźǒƭ ƚ ΛЋ͵АCΜ ƚŅ ǞğƩƒźƓŭ ǞźƷŷźƓ ƆǒƭƷ ƷŷĻ ƓĻǣƷ ƷǞƚ ķĻĭğķĻƭ͵ Whether we limit warming and prevent the most severe climate impacts depends on actions taken this decade. Only with ambitious emissions cuts can the world keep global temperature ooo rise to 1.5C (or even 2C) \[2.7-3.6F\] oo Under a high-emissions scenario, the world may warm by 4.4C \[7.9F\] by 2100 with catastrophic results, but only if we let it While that may sound small, it has already had planet-altering impacts (World Resources Institute) warming, changes in extremes continue to Temperatures will keep rising Increasing frequency/intensity of extreme weather events attributable to climate change Scientists can now ƌźƓƉ specific and extreme weather events Ʒƚ ŷǒƒğƓΏ ƒğķĻ ĭƌźƒğƷĻ ĭŷğƓŭĻ aĻŭğ ĻǝĻƓƷƭ: weather events once considered rare or unprecedented are becoming more common, i.e., heatwaves and droughts, heavy rain and snow, flooding, tropical cyclones, fire /ƚƒƦƚǒƓķ ĻŅŅĻĭƷƭ translates into complex and destructive local and regional impacts, i.e. ecosystems/societies more strongly impacted than events in isolation ŷĻ ƌƚƓŭĻƭƷΏƷĻƩƒ ƌĻŭğĭǤʹ ƭĻğ ƌĻǝĻƌ ƩźƭĻ o Under intermediate and high emissions scenarios,mean sea level projected to rise by 1.5 ft to >3ft by 2100 the end of the century, and a rise of 6 feet by 2100 cannot be ruled out (C2ES) o Low-likelihood, but could also not rule out ice sheet collapse, abrupt ocean circulation changes, substantially larger warming The changes we are already seeing are unprecedented in recent history and will impact every region on Earth Figure: Evidence of Global Warming Already Underway (WRI) We are seeing the effects Extreme heatwaves o-related event in Washington o-fish farmers line up for disaster aid after heat wave decimates oysters and Widespread wildfires in Western US, large smoke events o past Worsening droughts, acidifying oceans, shrinking glaciers, rising sea-levels o We have seen locally how earlier spring snowmelt and lower summer flow can impact our water supplies and salmon Decision time World on track to use up carbon budget in about a decade ŷĻ ŭƚƚķ ƓĻǞƭ źƭ ǞĻ ƉƓƚǞ ǞŷğƷ Ʒƚ ķƚ o City/County has JeffCoGHG Inventory, GHG Reduction Opportunities identified, Communications Plan, Decision support tool, ... The science is clear all of us to act now GHG Redux Top Opportunities /hĻ wĻķǒĭƷźƚƓ źƓ ЋЉЌЉ ǝƭ Ћ Њ {ƷƩğƷĻŭǤ.ǒƭźƓĻƭƭ ğƭ ƭǒğƌ aĻƷƩźĭ і ƚŅ ЋЉЊБ ƚƓƭ ΛaΜźƓǝĻƓƷƚƩǤ Electric Vehicle Promotion28,79810.5% Data Driven Commuter Transit2,8361.0% Employee Commute Reduction Program2,8361.0% Residential Heat Pump Retrofits2,3490.9% Compact Development1,0140.4% High Efficiency Transit1,0050.4% GHG Redux Top Opportunities /hĻ wĻķǒĭƷźƚƓ źƓ ЋЉЌЉ ǝƭ Ћ Њ {ƷƩğƷĻŭǤ.ǒƭźƓĻƭƭ ğƭ ƭǒğƌ aĻƷƩźĭ і ƚŅ ЋЉЊБ ƚƓƭ ΛaΜźƓǝĻƓƷƚƩǤ Fully Implement Complete Streets6960.3% Energy Conservation Ordinance4300.2% Home Weatherization Promotion4330.2% Transit shuttles to ferry530.02% Increased Commercial Solar30.001% GHG Redux Top Opportunities Two working groups formed based on the top opportunities: EV Opportunities: Led by City of Port Townsend Public Works Director Steve King, it has representatives from a variety of organizations across the county Focused on Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure, fleet conversion, access and affordability of EVs, promotion, and grant opportunities. Vehicle Miles Traveled Reduction: Focused on opportunities to reduce miles driven, especially in single occupancy vehicles, for both tourists and commuters. GHG Redux Top Opportunities For Council / Staff to Support EV promotion/adoption: Use communication tools to promote EV adoption Have fleet manager engaged in EV working group Support grant applications for expanding chargers Transit Opportunities: leverage JTAB roles to identify new ways to optimize transit for commuters and tourists; encourage transit shuttle to ferry pilot usage Compact Development: what opportunities are there for denser housing where services are? Or for code changes to improve connections between neighborhoods, etc. GHG Redux Top Opportunities For Council / Staff to Support Employee Commute Reduction Programs: Grant application for county wide commute reduction program? Consider funding bus passes for employees Work with employees to identify other opportunities Complete Streets: what opportunities are there to expand bike/ped infrastructure, and/or opportunities to prioritize implementation? GHG Redux Top Opportunities For Council / Staff to Support Energy Efficiency: Advocate for on-bill financing of energy efficient improvements for transportation and heating to electricity) Consider ways to regulate propane use in new construction to encourage electrification of heating and cooking, as has been done in 49 cities in Cal, and is in process in 27 different states (has important health benefits as well) Update on Forest and Trees GHG Inventory Report in Progress Since Sept 2020, another team of volunteers attended the ICLEI training on a new tool for modeling the carbon sequestration of forests and trees, and have been completing the analysis and drafting the report The first draft of the report went to the CAC in August, and updates are in progress We hope to finalize the report by the end of the year, and present the results to you in early 2022 CAC Outreach Plans Similar to the inventory rollout, the CAC proposes holding a few public public: IPCC report summary GHG Reduction Opportunities Two Working Groups Top opportunities for individuals to reduce emissions Note the Forest and Trees GHG Inventory work in progress Commissioners or Staff participation is most welcome! Climate Risk Screening Tool In 2019, the CAC approved a Climate Risk Screening tool that summarized the key projected impacts of climate on Jefferson County in a checklist that could be used for new projects, plans, etc. The goal of the tool is to save us all money in the long run by planning for impacts upfront We encourage the County to pilot the tool on a project or two, and provide the CAC with any feedback CAC Organizational Member Goals With the new inventory data and GHG reduction modeling results, the CAC is asking all organizational members to create specific bi-annual goals for their organization for reducing GHG emissions (at the organizational and/or community level), and goals related to preparing for climate impacts (adaptation). For example, a previous example from the county was to inventory county light fixtures and migrate to LEDs. A previous adaptation goal from the city was to update the stormwater plan. We would like to finalize these goals by the December 2021 CAC meeting. Discussion and Next Steps Backup Slides Useful references on IPCC report IPCC https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_Basic_Slide_Deck_Figures.pdf UN https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/secretary-generals-statement-the-ipcc-working-group-1-report-the-physical-science-basis-of- the-sixth-assessment World Resources Institute (WRI) https://www.wri.org/insights/ipcc-climate-report Yale https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/08/key-takeaways-from-the-new-ipcc-report/ Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) o https://www.c2es.org/2021/08/how-policymakers-should-absorb-the-ipccs-latest-warning/ Seattle Times o https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/landmark-climate-report-promises-massive-effects-for-western-u-s-seattle/ KUOW o https://www.kuow.org/stories/heat-wave-death-toll-in-washington-state-jumps-to-112-people o https://www.kuow.org/stories/shellfish-farmers-line-up-for-disaster-aid-after-heat-wave-decimates-oysters-and-clams