HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 7/12/2022 - Memorandum From Honore Depew Re: Interim Goal Options For Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions
Environmental Services Department
222 Laporte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6600
MEMORANDUM
Date: July 6, 2022
To: Mayor Arndt and City Council
Thru:
From:
Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Tyler Marr, Interim Deputy City Manager
Jackie Kozak Thiel, Sustainability Officer
Lindsay Ex, Environmental Services Director
Honoré Depew, Climate Program Manager
Re: Interim Goal Options for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions
The purpose of this memo is to respond to Councilmember interest in timing and options related to a
Resolution to adopt interim greenhouse gas (GHG) goals.
Bottom Line
The Council Work Session on October 11, 2022 on Our Climate Future (OCF) will include options for an
interim GHG goal, based on data and community input related to adopted 2030 goals, with a Resolution
for adoption coming forward shortly thereafter. Staff can advance a Resolution prior to the October OCF
Work Session if Councilmembers give that direction. Moving forward sooner would allow for Council and
community members to assess the recommended budget in the context of the goal; however, it would limit
community input, staff analysis, and consideration of OCF commitments to waste, energy, equity, and
resilience in
Background
next adopted target for reducing GHG pollution is to achieve a community-wide reduction of 80%
below 2005 levels by 2030. The 2020 Community Carbon Inventory found Fort Collins had achieved a
24% overall reduction despite a population growth of 29% over that timeframe. Considering an interim
GHG reduction goal is part of the Council Priority to address the climate emergency locally.
During an OCF Work Session in April of this year to achieve adopted 2030
goals. At the next OCF Work Session, scheduled for October 11, staff will provide data-based pathways
and decision points to achieve 2030 waste, energy, and climate goals that embed resilience and equity.
The pathways will include a year-over-year forecast of likely GHG emissions from climate and waste
related strategies, providing the opportunity to better inform an appropriate timeline and reduction
associated with interim goals.
Current Process for Considering Interim GHG Goal in Q4
develop specific options for an interim GHG goal, based on data and
projections of 2030 pathways, with input from committed community partners, including Fort Collins
Sustainability Group (FCSG), to share with Council at the October 11 Work Session. A Resolution
in Q4. Staff is
currently compiling the 2021 Community Carbon Inventory, projecting the impacts of actions associated
with pathways to 2030, developing a draft Next Moves Plan with actions for 2023-24, and assessing how
an interim goal would align with science-based targets (i.e., in alignment with the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and global goals for addressing the climate emergency).
Alternative Option and Factors for Considering Interim GHG Goal in Q3
FCSG has proposed a draft Resolution and requested Council consider adopting it (or similar) in Q3.
Adopting an interim goal prior to the October OCF Work Session will present tradeoffs. That course of
action would allow Council and community members to assess the City
budget for 2023-24 in the context of a specific,
mid-term GHG reduction target. However, moving forward sooner may (1) restrict the timeline for feedback
and staff analysis, (2) limit the ability to discuss interim goals in the context of other OCF commitments to
zero waste, renewable electricity, equity, and resilience, and (3) lead to an interim target that is not fully
aligned with relevant data,
Next steps
Council can direct staff under Other Business on July 19 if desire is to bring a Resolution prior to
the October OCF Work Session
The soonest a Resolution could come forward would be after , e.g.,
August 16 Regular Meeting
Our Climate Future Work Session scheduled for October 11, 2022
Cc: John Phelan, Energy Services Manager and Policy Advisor