Climate Action Plan Blog Series: Preparing for Earth Month
Learn about previous Ad Hoc meetings and upcoming community Earth Month events, and hear from the Ad Hoc Committee Members about their views on climate and sustainability
Each month, the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Ad Hoc Committee will delve into various topics related to the S/CAP Update — the City’s roadmap of strategies needed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% by 2030 and other community-wide sustainability goals. The Ad Hoc Committee guides the development, implementation, communication, and future community engagement of the S/CAP Update.
The March 10 Ad Hoc Committee meeting was cancelled, with the next meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 14 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The April meeting focus is on carbon neutrality. This blog shares a recap of all the S/CAP Ad Hoc meetings and resources, ways that you can start preparing for Earth Month and taking climate action, plus hear from the Ad Hoc Committee members about their sustainability and climate action passions.
PREVIOUS S/CAP AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETINGS RECAP
In August 2021, the S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee began meeting to discuss implementation strategies for the City of Palo Alto’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. Below are resources and highlights outlining some of the biggest takeaways from these meetings.
August 2021 New Ad Hoc Committee: During this inaugural meeting, Ad Hoc Committee members discussed what is needed to reach the City’s goal of reducing GHG emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 (the “80 x 30” goal). These meetings were established in part to gain input from the community, stakeholders, domain experts, and activists with the understanding that input is key to making progress and accomplishing climate action goals together communitywide. Several programs are being developed including promoting electrification in homes and businesses, expanding bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, promoting incentives for electric vehicles, and more. Read the full blog summarizing the August Ad Hoc meeting or watch the full Ad Hoc meeting here.
September 2021 Residential Building Electrification: During the September meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee heard about technologies that exist to electrify all residential homes through cost-effective retrofits; however, barriers were also discussed. For example, heat pumps can be installed to improve efficiency, safety and performance, but they often come with a hefty price tag and some homes may require an electric panel upgrade in order to shift towards electric and away from natural gas. Read the full blog summarizing the September 2021 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the full Ad Hoc meeting here.
October 2021 Non-Residential Building Electrification: As part of the October discussion, staff shared that the City plans to launch new initiatives that facilitate voluntary electrification of non-residential buildings. The City also launched a Commercial Electrification Assistance program to aid building owners and facility managers in conducting electrification projects. Read the full blog summarizing the October 2021 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the full Ad Hoc meeting here.
November 2021 Electric Vehicles: The November meeting was a discussion of electric vehicles, specifically focused on supporting electric vehicle usage. To do that, the City would need to focus on building more EV charging infrastructure at multi-family buildings and non-profit properties. So far, through a curbside EV charging program, the City has installed 120 charging ports available to the public. E-scooters and e-bikes are also important and are part of the conversations. To do its part, the City also plans to electrify its municipal fleet and refuse collection fleet. Read the full blog summarizing the November 2021 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the full Ad Hoc meeting here.
December 2021 Reduce Transportation Emissions: At the close of 2021, the Ad Hoc Committee focused on transportation efforts tied to reducing gas emissions. Roughly 65 percent of emissions in Palo Alto come from transportation. Three ways to reduce vehicle miles traveled are to improve land use, improve active transportation modes, and promote active transportation. The City intends to pilot an on-demand transit program to provide an Uber Pool-type of transit, with an alternative to mobile apps for booking rides. Read the full blog summarizing the December 2021 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the full Ad Hoc meeting here.
January 2022 Climate Impacts: The cumulative ambient smoke exposure increase over the last 15 years has made up half of the world’s annual air pollution — up from 10–15% a decade ago, making exposure to wildfire smoke the highest risk from wildfires today. Notably at the January meeting, Marshall Burke, Stanford University Associate Professor in the Department of Earth System Science, discussed how wildfire risk is changing. Michael Wara, Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, discussed wildfire challenges. Similarly, sea level rise projections pose significant economic, environmental, and social risks to Bay Area communities. Several sea level rise protection efforts are already in place including the San Francisquito Creek “Downstream Project” which resulted in more than 22 acres of new or improved marsh habitat. In addition, Jeremy Lowe, Senior Environmental Scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, discussed the drivers of sea level rise (SLR) and SLR adaptation pathways. Read the full blog summarizing the January 2022 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the meeting here.
February 2022 Funding and Financing Building Electrification: Pilot programs such as GoGreen Financing test how on-bill repayment of high up-front costs for energy upgrades can make electrification available to more households. Potential funding sources for City-provided financing of up-front costs and repayment assistance include electric gas revenue from the State’s Cap and Trade program, funds from the State’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, public benefit money, and transportation grants. Read the full blog summarizing the February 2022 Ad Hoc meeting or watch the meeting here.
Learn more about the S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee by visiting www.cityofpaloalto.org/SCAPAdHoc.
PREPARING FOR EARTH MONTH
April is Earth month, and a great way to think globally and act locally about climate action. This section provides a preview of ways to celebrate Earth Day and Earth month. Stay tuned in our next blog for more Earth Day and Earth month events, workshops, and community celebrations.
April 10: Goodbye Gas: Hello EVs, Mitchell Park Community Center
April 11: Earth Day City Council Study Session
April 13: Green@Home Workshop: Heat Pump Hot Water Heater (Virtual)
April 14: S/CAP Ad Hoc Meeting on Carbon Neutrality, Register Here (Virtual)
April 16: We Love Earth Day Fair, Menlo Park
April 20: EV 101: Electrify Your Ride — Learn EV and e-Bike basics (Virtual)
April 22 — Earth Day: March and Rally for Our Earth, King Plaza, 4 to 6 p.m.
April 23: Palo Alto Youth Council Earth Day Fair, Mitchell Park Bowl, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
April 23: e-Bike Workshop and Test Rides, Mitchell Park Community Center
For these events and more, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/calendar.
AD HOC COMMITTEE MEMBERS: SUSTAINABILITY REFLECTIONS
S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee Members share their views on local sustainability efforts.
What stands out to you as the most powerful message from the last eight S/CAP Ad Hoc meetings? What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
“That, over the next decade, we can choose to electrify our homes with 100% carbon-free electricity and that it can be done at lower cost than our current methods, provide healthier homes and buildings while making our lives more comfortable. I have been learning about how a series of new technologies are now available, or will soon be coming to market, that are more energy efficient and reduce our energy costs, and that the price of renewable electricity along with battery storage will continue to drop in the coming years as we electrify our cars and homes. We also better understand that the impacts of climate change are not only projected to severely impact our community in the coming years from sea-level rise and negative impacts on our water supply, they are already creating severe harm to our health from annual megafires throughout the state.” — Mayor Burt (Chair)
Which climate and sustainability topics are you most passionate about and why?
“I want people to make the right choices for them, for our city, and for our planet. Getting the gas out of our homes and cars is the right choice and it’s our job to help everyone in the community understand this and take action.” — Councilmember Alison Cormack
What is your climate and sustainability vision for Palo Alto by the year 2030?
“I think it’s critical that the City start “doing”. We have a lot of programs, policies, and plans. We need a bias towards action around reducing GHG in buildings. I’d like to see us accelerating these programs by 2030 where we either hit our target or know we will blow by it in a few months past 2030 because of the trajectory we are on.” — Councilmember Tom DuBois
PARTICIPATE IN THE NEXT S/CAP AD HOC MEETING ON APRIL 14, 2022
The Ad Hoc meetings are open to the public and a good way for staff to hear from the community on specific sustainability related goals and actions.
The next Ad Hoc meeting is scheduled for April 14, 2022, from 9–11:30 a.m., with a focus on carbon neutrality. Provide input by taking the S/CAP survey or by submitting comments/questions to sustainability@cityofpaloalto.org.
Registration is required in advance of the meeting. Register here. View past meetings and materials by visiting www.cityofpaloalto.org/climateaction.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION AND GET MORE ONLINE RESOURCES
- Sign up to receive the monthly Sustainability Newsletter here.
- For details on the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and all S/CAP Ad Hoc meeting material go to: www.cityofpaloalto.org/climateaction
- Read the previous Climate Blog Series postings here to learn more about previous Ad Hoc meetings
- The City’s Sea Level Rise Website can be found here: www.cityofpaloalto.org/sealevelrise
- To learn how to save water year-round, go here: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/water
- For more on the City’s Electrification programs, go here: www.cityofpaloalto.org/electrification
- For more on the City’s Green Building Program including Trainings, go here.
- For more on Zero Waste programs, including tools to avoid food waste, go here.
- We welcome your input through the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Update Survey.
