South Pasadena 2020 Final Climate Action Plan This page intentionally left blank South Pasadena 2020 Final Climate Action Plan Adopted by City Council: December 16, 2020 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements This Climate Action Plan was a coordinated effort between: ✓ South Pasadena Community Members ✓ South Pasadena Natural Resource and Environmental Commission (NREC) ✓ South Pasadena City Staff ✓ Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) ✓ Rincon Consultants, Inc., Iteris, Inc., and BAE Urban Economics Thank you for participating! We appreciate your feedback, insight, and passion – South Pasadena’s Climate Action Plan is better because of you! NREC Commissioners and Liaisons: Madeline C. Di Giorgi, Chair Rona Bortz, Vice Chair Amy Davis Jones, Commissioner William Kelly, Commissioner Stephen Leider, Commissioner Cynthia Liu, Commissioner Lauren Myles, Commissioner Marina Khubesrian, M.D., City Council Liaison Diana Mahmud, City Council Liaison City Staff Shahid Abbas, Public Works Director Julian Lee, Deputy Public Works Director Arpy Kasparian, Water Conservation & Sustainability Analyst 1 Message from City Council One of the greatest global crises that we face today is climate change. However small our City may be, it is imperative that we take actions immediately to reduce our global footprint. The effects of climate change can be felt right at home by the longer heat waves, higher temperatures, and more frequent extreme heat days. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that environmental protections and actions cannot be delayed any longer. It is a privilege to lead a community that is not only overwhelmingly supportive of a sustainable lifestyle, but is not afraid to step up, take action, and truly make a difference. Our City’s youth have taken a leading role inciting change and innovation in the City and it is their calls to action that keep us motivated to establish policies and pathways to a carbon-neutral future. The City of South Pasadena has a history of pushing the envelope and leading the way in sustainability. This is exemplified by the City’s plastic bag ban that was established two years ahead of the state, our expanded polystyrene ban that helps avoid long-term environmental damage, and being the first City in the nation to be an American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) Green Zone City preventing the creation of 41 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) per year. In 2019, we continued our leadership efforts by joining the Clean Power Alliance with 100% clean power as the default rate for the residential and municipal sectors. In addition, City Council adopted the South Pasadena Green Action Plan, first of its kind, with implementable actions toward a plastic free, water conscious, high organics diverting, and heat island mitigating City. We do not plan on stopping to advance our environmental stewardship. South Pasadena is doing it again with its first Climate Action Plan. With more than 90 actions (or Moves), this Climate Action Plan outlines a pathway to reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions to ultimately reach our goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. With any good plan, we will be revisiting these actions every few years to make sure that the pathway is still relevant and ambitious and that we are on schedule toward goal attainment. An incredible team of city staff, community leaders, residents, businesses, city youth, and city commissioners came together to create this plan through a transparent and collaborative process. This is our community’s Climate Action Plan. With this plan, we strive to create a resilient, sustainable, and proactive community of which anyone would be proud. 2 Introduction……………7 The Playing Field…….23 GHG Emissions Inventory, Forecast, and Targets Game Plan……………31 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plays and Moves Adaptation…..……….65 Keeping Score……….69 Implementation and the Next Steps Instant Replays: Appendix A – Regulatory Summary Appendix B – Cal-Adapt Appendix C – Inventory, Forecast, and Targets Appendix D – Substantial Evidence Appendix E – Funding Strategy Appendix F – CEQA Document 3 Glossary Term Definition Adjustment or preparation of natural or human systems to a new or changing environment Adaptation which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. Made by people or resulting from human activities; usually used in the context of emissions Anthropogenic that are produced as a result of human activities Climate Action Plan – comprehensive roadmap that outlines the specific activities that an CAP agency will undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions California Air Resources Board – the lead agency for climate change programs and oversees all CARB air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health-based air quality standards Achieving net-zero carbon dioxide (CO ) emissions by balancing carbon emissions with carbon Carbon-neutrality 2 removal Carbon Dioxide A naturally occurring gas and a by-product of burning fossil fuels and biomass, as well as land- (CO2) use changes and other industrial processes. Carbon Dioxide A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon Equivalent (CO2e) their global warming potential (GWP) Climate The average of weather patterns over a long period of time (usually 30 or more years) A change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region over a Climate Change long period of time The benefits of policies that are implemented for various reasons at the same time including climate change mitigation acknowledging that most policies designed to address greenhouse Co-Benefit gas mitigation also have other, often at least equally important, rationales (e.g., related to objectives of development, sustainability, and equity) Coronavirus disease 2019 – a novel disease that was first identified in 2019 and spread COVID-19 throughout the rest of the world in 2020, leading to an economic shutdown in many countries. Decarbonization The reduction or removal of carbon The process of generating power from electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of Electrification such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The release of a substance (usually a gas when referring to the subject of climate change) into Emissions the atmosphere The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national Environmental origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of Justice environmental laws, regulations, and policies Electric Vehicle – a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for EV propulsion A general term for fuel formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to Fossil Fuel crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth’s crust 4 Greenhouse Gas – a gas that absorbs infrared radiation, traps heat in the atmosphere, and GHG contributes to the greenhouse effect Greenhouse A process that occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat Effect Global Warming Potential - total contribution to global warming resulting from the emission of GWP one unit of that gas relative to one unit of the reference gas, carbon dioxide, which is assigned a value of 1 International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives – emissions estimates were calculated ICLEI using ICLEI’s best available methodologies United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on IPCC climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for reducing the rate at which climate change is taking place A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas that is produced through anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition of waste in landfills, animal digestion, decomposition of animal wastes, Methane (CH ) 4 production and distribution of natural gas and petroleum, coal production, and incomplete fossil fuel combustion Mitigation An action that will reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions, such as electrifying Metric Ton – Common international measurement for the quantity of greenhouse gas MT emissions – one metric ton is equal to 2205 pounds or 1.1 short tons MT CO2e Metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent A powerful GHG with a high global warming potential; major sources of nitrous oxide include Nitrous Oxide soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel (N O) 2 combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning. PV Photovoltaic (Solar energy) Qualified GHG A Plan that accommodates growth in a manner that does not hinder the state’s ability to reach Reduction Plan further emission reduction goals. Representative Concentration Pathway – Greenhouse gas concentration trajectory scenarios RCP adopted by the IPCC. Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy – a Plan adopted by SCAG to RTP/SCS promote mobility, accessibility, sustainability, and a high-quality of life Southern California Association of Governments – designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, SCAG Orange, and Imperial, pursuant to Title 23, United States Code Section 134(d) – the funding entity of this Climate Action Plan Social Equity All people having equal access to and influence on the resources and benefits of society United States Environmental Protection