Agenda

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AD HOC COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILITY

Meeting Date:	05/11/2015
Subject: Update on Status of County Climate Action Plan
Department:	Conservation & Development
Referral No.:	2015-02
Referral Name:	Update on Status of County Climate Action Plan
Presenter:	Will Nelson, DCD Staff	Contact:	Will Nelson, (925) 674-7791

Information

Referral History:

In April 2012 the Board of Supervisors directed the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) to prepare a community-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) to address climate change impacts by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In response to the Board’s direction, DCD retained Pacific Municipal Consultants (PMC), conducted public outreach, and worked with other County departments to prepare a CAP that would serve as the County’s roadmap for reducing GHG emissions within the unincorporated areas. In December 2012 DCD released the Draft CAP for public review, but the document was never completed. In January 2015 DCD reengaged PMC with the intention of completing the CAP in 2015.

Referral Update:

At the first meeting of the Sustainability Committee on March 23, 2015, DCD staff updated the Committee on its renewed effort to complete the CAP. The following has occurred since the March meeting:

DCD finalized its contract renewal with PMC to complete the CAP. PMC is currently working on the updated County GHG inventory. The inventory will provide the starting point for identifying the reduction measures necessary to reach Assembly Bill 32’s goal of reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020;

On April 28 DCD hosted the first meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group consisting of County departments anticipated to be responsible for implementing the CAP’s GHG reduction measures. The meeting was attended by staff of DCD, the County Administrator’s Office, Public Works Department, Agriculture Department, Health Services Department, and PMC. The meeting included review of the statutes related to GHG reduction efforts in California, discussion of the continued applicability of the GHG reduction measures identified in the 2012 Draft CAP, and discussion of some of the County’s current GHG reduction efforts.

The next meeting of the Working Group is scheduled for May 28. The primary focus of that meeting will be identifying new GHG reduction measures to be incorporated into the CAP.

For additional information:

http://www.contracosta.ca.gov/4554/Climate-Action-Plan (This is DCD’s CAP project page)

http://ca-contracostacounty.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/Home/View/9013 (This is the draft CAP only)

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT the report on the status of the CAP; PROVIDE direction to staff as necessary.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

The renewed contract with PMC is for an amount not to exceed $54,995.00, which is being funded out of DCD’s current year budget.

Attachments
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