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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC Minutes_12_12_23 Jefferson County/City of Port Townsend Climate Action Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 3:00 - 5:00 PM Hybrid Meeting Hosted by Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan Street; Pacific Room; Port Townsend Members Present: Cindy Jayne, Dave Wilkinson, Owen Rowe (City Council), Laura Tucker (Jefferson County Public Health), Nicole Gauthier and Sara Peck (Jefferson Transit); Kees Kolff (JHC), Carol Hasse (Port of PT), Kate Chadwick Absent: Kate Dean (BoCC), Jeff Randall (PUD No. 1), Micheal Clea (PTPC), Dave Seabrook Staff: Judy Surber (City of Port Townsend); Laura Tucker (Jefferson County) Guests: Lara Gaasland-Tatro (Jefferson County Health), Jaime Duyck, Cyndy Bratz (Forest Working Group), Rebecca Kimble, Scott Walker (VMT Reduction Group), Lara Cittadini (Jefferson County Public Health) Scribe: Judy Surber Topic Recommendation/Action Follow Up Items Call to order Introductions Chair Kees Kolff called the meeting to order at 3:02 Approval of Agenda & Minutes Motion to approve Agenda and 10/10/23 Minutes approved by consensus. Laura to post on County Website Public Comment Rebecca Kimble wants to talk about what we can do locally right now. Asks that every organization create their own climate action plans. Emphasized reducing VMT. Grants are available for this work. Ask community leaders, your words and actions influence people. Scott Walker spoke to the need to reduce demand in order to reduce GHG emissions. Need to reduce VMT. It’s up to you as leaders. GHG Emissions Goal Cindy referred to email with details on this item. Previously discussed in April 2022 ICLEI document on science-based targets (SBT). Currently, we have an absolute goal of 80% reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. The SBTs represent our community’s fair share of the ambition necessary to meet the Paris Agreement commitment to keep warming below 1.5°C. To achieve this goal, the IPCC states that we must reduce global emissions by 50% by 2030, and achieve climate neutrality by 2050 Equitably reducing global emissions by 50% requires that high-emitting, wealthy nations reduce their emissions by more than 50%. Therefore, the recommendation is to revise our GHG emissions reduction goal to 58.7% reduction from 2018 baseline levels by 2030 (absolute, not per capita) and 95% below 2018 by 2050. IPCC recommends we are net zero by 2050 but we learned in our forestry work that we already meet that target, since our forests sequester many times more GHGs than the amount reported in our latest emissionsinventory. Therefore, following the WA state goal of a 95% reduction of emissions by 2050, was recommended. Discussion ensued. Kees noted state uses 1990 baseline. Kate C. recommended we indicate how the 2018 baseline translates to a 1990 baseline. Motion by Carol Hasse: Recommend the City Council and BoCC approve updated GHG emissions reduction goals based on the IPCC recommendations and science-based targets: 58.7% reduction from 2018 baseline levels by 2030 (absolute) and 95% below 2018 levels by 2050 (absolute) with reference to our previous goals using 1990 baseline data. Second by Kate Chadwick. Motion passed with no opposition. Kees recommended a cover letter explaining the ICLEI role. Kate Chadwick noted goals require action, funding to implement. Chair to forward recommendatio n to BoCC and Council. Review and Update Organizatio nal Goals Members reviewed organizational goals from 2022-23. Members reported progress on 2022-23 goals. Jefferson Transit and Local 2020 provided 2024-25 goals. Carol – Port process on seawall design has been delayed a year. Judy – City will start early next year to get input re shoreline master program update in 2025, and coordinate with Port. Kees noted collaboration between Jefferson Transit and the PUD for new electric bus charging station. Members to send status reports and 2024-25 goals to Kees. Carol provided highlights from the recent Washington Public Ports Association conference. EV Working Group Update Cindy: the EV car share ribbon cutting went well. Reminder to all – carshare available earn more at zev.coop ,. County participated in new application for fast charges at two locations. PUD put in for workplace chargers. Jim Jensen of WSU Energy will be guest speaker tomorrow. Forestry Working Group Update Cindy: Discuss Forest Working Groups Proposed Recommendation for Countywide sequestration goals. She shared materials previously emailed and reviewed at 2 prior meetings. We now have a baseline. Cindy responded to questions. Studies show an extended harvest rotation (75 yrs. vs. 40) can increase sequestration and wood product yield. Impacts of forest fires is included. “Private lands” excludes City and Port Hadlock UGA. County forester, Malloree, has reviewed the recommendations and found them consistent with County policy, and others reviewed them as well. Kate Chadwick noted the difference between deforestation and degradation. She noted urgency. Motion by Carol Hasse: The CAC recommends that the City Council and BoCC adopt the following goals: Second by Owen Rowe. Motion passed with no opposition. Chair to forward recommendatio n to BoCC and Council. VMT Redux Working Group Update Nicole: Jefferson Transit completed its long-range plan in early 2022. Part of that was to develop its own Climate Action Plan. They have selected a consultant to prepare the draft plan. Goal is to complete Climate Action Plan by end of 2024. Process will include a public engagement program. They are transitioning to a zero emissions fleet, one bus per year. The CAC VMT working group recommends that each CAC organizational member urge their organization to develop their own Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gases, including opportunities to reduce VMT, since transportation is 66% of our countywide emissions. Upcoming Organizational Plans and Documents for Cindy noted Josh Peters would like to present the County SLR Study and the ongoing 2025 Comprehensive Plan periodic update at a future CAC meeting. City Shoreline Master Program 2025Update Climate Review? Jefferson Transit Climate Action Plan Public Comment Cyndy Bratz noted City of Portland had been asked to look at all decisions through the lens of climate change. Other Updates Cindy and Catherine Copass, as well as Commissioner Eisenhour, presented CAC Forestry Report to WA Conservation Action’s Carbon Friendly Forest Conference Cindy noted that the King Tide project (Jefferson MRC, Local 2020 and CAC collaborative) has interns that have been collecting data and developing a protocol for predicting coastal flooding. Dave Wilkinson noted the importance of knowing what your elevation is. Jaimie Duyck – Recently relocated from Portland. She shared her background and interest to engage on climate issues. Next Steps and Agenda Planning 2024 Meetings: February 13, April 9, June 11, August 13, October 8, December 10: Future agenda items: County SLR Study County 2025 Comprehensive Plan periodic update Elections of chair and vice-chair Introduction of new members City Shoreline Master Program 2025 update Jefferson Transit Climate Action Plan. Update on resources provided by ICLEI Circularity Cohort that Laura attended Jefferson County Public Health is preparing a presentation for a future Board of Health Meeting. Laura noted 12 applications have been received for 5 openings on the CAC. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.