HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/29/2020 - Memorandum From Michelle Finchum Re: Climate Action Updates
1 Includes Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor; Interim Director of Community Services John
Stokes; Director of Planning, Development, and Transportation Caryn Champine; Chief Sustainability Officer
Jacqueline Kozak Thiel; and Environmental Services Director Lucinda Smith
Sustainability Services
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970-221-6600
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
Date: December 22, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
Thru: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
CAP Executive Team1
From: Michelle Finchum, Interim Climate Program Manager
Re: Climate Action Updates
Purpose:
To provide a status update on the City’s climate actions including the following:
Our Climate Future (OCF) Next Steps
Shift Campaign Update
Electric Vehicle Update
Other climate related initiatives
Our Climate Future Accomplishments & Updates:
Our Climate Future (OCF) is proceeding with an intentionally different approach, combining previous
stand-alone plans into one Plan with three sets of goals, recognition of the community’s priorities and
vision for a sustainable Fort Collins, integrating resilience for the first time, and centering equity leading
with race. By updating three plans as one, the plan can leverage interconnections between waste,
energy, and climate and identify opportunities for connected solutions. Centering the planning process
and strategies in community-defined priorities will result in increased buy-in to meet goals while
simultaneously positively advancing other efforts. The Big Moves represent the transformational
outcomes that incorporate these various components of Our Climate Future. See the attached Big Moves
infographic for more.
Next Steps for OCF
In 2020, OCF completed Phase One (Understanding our Community) and Phase Two (Strategic
Planning). Phase Three (the final phase) will include drafting the OCF Plan with tactical elements for the
Next Moves in 2021 and 2022 and final engagement on the plan. Additional next steps include:
• Evaluation of Next Moves – The OCF Consulting team, led by Metabolic, will continue evaluating
selected Next Moves (strategies to achieve Big Moves and reach waste, energy, and climate goals).
• Development of the OCF Plan
• Draft of final plan that describes the OCF process, including core elements (sections on
equity, resilience, carbon accounting, etc.), implementation framework, Big and Next Moves,
and supporting 2021/22 tactical plan.
• Implementation planning
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• Prioritization of processes to define and establish community roles for implementation and
accountability.
• Proposed calibration cadence, recognizing that climate, waste, and energy work will need to
be dynamic and frequently updated over the next ten years and that traditional five-year plans
will not suffice.
• A supporting 2021/22 tactical plan for the Next Moves to be prioritized during the first two
years of OCF implementation.
• Plan engagement and superboard meeting
• Council touchpoints
• Council work session February 9
• Council plan consideration March 16
Shift Campaign Update:
Shift Your Ride Challenge
o This campaign encouraged community members to use active modes of transportation in
a shift away from driving single occupancy vehicles.
o Launched as part of Shift Your Ride Month in September
Currently 482 community members have joined the challenge as part of a larger
goal of engaging 1,500 community members, 500 of which would be from
historically underrepresented communities, by Earth Day 2021
o The Shift team launched the challenge in partnership with FC Moves and is transitioning
ownership of marketing to FC Moves.
Planning for 2nd Annual Earth Day Challenge
o This is an annual competition run through the online gamification platform shiftfoco.com to
encourage households to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The campaign was piloted in 2020 and engaged over 550 households
o The second Earth Day Challenge is currently scheduled to launch January 22, 2021.
Shift Equity Focus Group
o This is a project to host a focus group of community members with the goal of creating a
new campaign focused on alternative transportation that linguistically and culturally
resonates with Spanish-speaking community members.
A 2019 focus group revealed that the Shift Your Ride concept did not translate
effectively into Spanish for cultural and linguistic reasons.
State GHG Alignment
In order to express alignment with the State’s GHG Pollution Reduction Plan, staff submitted a
letter outlining agreement with the draft roadmap. See the attached November 17, 2020 memo to
City Council.
Electric Vehicles:
74 Electric Vehicles were sold as a result of the EV Group Buy hosted by Northern Colorado
Clean Cities (NCCC):
o Nissan - 52
o BMW - X3 - 7, X5 - 4
o Chevy - 7
o Kia Niro – 4
o Total sold (September through November) = 74
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In partnership with NCCC, the City will be pursuing a 2021 Department of Energy grant
opportunity to fund the expansion of EV education efforts and the promotion of EV online tools
aimed at supporting EV users and public and private entities promoting EVs.
City staff are researching what EV education and promotion best practice initiatives can be
pursued beyond what is in the City’s Electric Vehicle Readiness Roadmap.
City staff are working on the next update to the City Building Code as it relates to EV-conduit and
EV charger installation requirements.
City Fleet electric purchases in 2020 include: 3 Chevy Bolts, 1 Nissan Leaf and 1 Electric Street
Sweeper.
The City of Fort Collins received a GoEV City designation from the GoEV City Coalition
announced at the December 15, 2020 City Council meeting. The City was recognized due to its
work in support of EV adoption and its commitment to pursue zero emission transportation by
2050.
Other CAP Related Items:
The City joined over one thousand leaders across the United States affirming commitment to
Global Climate Action by reaffirming the We Are Still In pledge for the new administration.
The City received a “Clean Air Champions” award from the Regional Air Quality Council on
December 4, 2020, for efforts related to electrification of the municipal fleet and lawn and garden
equipment.
CC4CA (Colorado Communities for Climate Action) is a coalition of 34 local governments across
the state advocating for stronger state and federal climate policy. Membership continues to be
beneficial for the City to showcase alignment with state climate action initiatives.
Northside Aztlan Resilience Hub Project (DOLA grant): This project kicked off in mid-October as
funds were approved by Council appropriation. Next steps include releasing an RFQ for
construction and selecting a vendor.
In alignment with climate resiliency efforts, staff supported air quality monitoring and outreach
during the intensive 2020 wildfire season.
Upcoming Dates:
January - 2019 GHG Inventory Results including industrial process emissions
January 11 – Super Issues Board Meeting
February 9, 2021- OCF Council Work Session
March 16, 2021 – OCF Council Adoption
Attachments:
OCF Big Moves infographic
State GHG reduction roadmap letter - Nov. 17 memo to council
CC: Cassie Archuleta, Air Quality Manager; Amanda Mansfield, Transportation Planner; Katy McLaren,
Lead Environmental Specialist; Jensen Morgan, Environmental Sustainability Senior Specialist; John
Phelan, Energy Services Senior Manager; Molly Saylor, Environmental Sustainability Senior Specialist.
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Auxiliary aids and services are available for persons with disabilities. V/TDD: 711 20-22744
COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIP
AND
GOVERNANCE
Centering equity and leading with race, all parts
of our community implement, govern, and
benefit from Our Climate Future
HEALTHY
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING
Everyone has healthy, stable housing
they can aord
RESILIENT
COMMUNITY,
URBAN AND
NATURAL
SYSTEMS
Fort Collins is prepared for the threats
of climate change
ACCESSIBLE
LIVE/WORK/
PLAY CENTERS
Everyone lives near centers which provide
walkable access to daily needs
REDUCE
DRIVING,
ESPECIALLY
PEOPLE
DRIVING ALONE
Everyone can safely get to where they need to
go within 20 minutes without a car
LOCAL,
AFFORDABLE,
AND HEALTHY
FOOD
Everyone has access to healthy and aordable
food, sourced or rescued from local and
regional producers
EMISSION FREE
CARS, FREIGHT
AND FLEET
Fort Collins uses clean personal, shared, and
commercial vehicles to complement
non-car transportation
NATURAL
SPACES
AND
ECOSYSTEMS
The community supports ecosystems,
watersheds and natural spaces that are healthy
and accessible
HEALTHY LOCAL
ECONOMY
AND JOBS
The community supports a healthy, innovative
local economy with new opportunities for all
people and businesses to thrive
All new and existing buildings transition to
become emissions free
EMISSIONS
FREE
BUILDINGS
100%
RENEWABLE
ELECTRICITY
Everyone in the community receives aordable
and reliable 100% renewable electricity,
including from local sources
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
All parts of the community work together to
keep natural resources in circulation instead of
becoming waste
UNIVERSAL
RECYCLING AND
COMPOSTING
Everyone is able to compost and recycle
COOPERATIVE
COMMUNITIES
Connected neighborhoods where people don't
need to buy things they won’t regularly use
EFFICIENCY
FOR EXISTING
BUILDINGS
Everyone lives and works in healthy, energy
and water ecient buildings
BIG MOVES Big Moves are the primary strategies to meet our
community climate, energy and waste goals
while advancing our community priorities for a
sustainable future.
FCGOV.COM/CLIMATEFUTURE
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1 Includes Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor; Interim Director of Community Services John
Stokes; Director of Planning, Development, and Transportation Caryn Champine; Chief Sustainability Officer
Jacqueline Kozak Thiel; and Environmental Services Director Lucinda Smith
Sustainability Services
222 Laporte Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970-221-6600
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
Date: November 17, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
Thru: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
CAP Executive Team1
From: Michelle Finchum, Interim Climate Program Manager
Adelle McDaniel, Interim Sr. Sustainability Specialist
Re: Letter to State re: Draft GHG Pollution Reduction Roadmap
Purpose:
To provide Council an update on the City’s comments regarding the State’s Draft Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) Pollution Reduction Roadmap, which can be found at the link below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lok5it22y_Eh0Fjp8ioT_BbPMC7zUJpZ/view
Background
The Roadmap was developed to meet the requirements of Colorado Revised Statute § 24-20-111, which
calls for development of a state climate plan setting forth a strategy to address climate change and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions while taking into account previous state actions and efforts.
The Draft GHG Pollution Reduction Roadmap represents a step forward for climate action and pollution
reduction planning at the state level, advancing Colorado’s policy and programmatic vision for pursuing
timely, enduring and equitable strategies. Ultimately, the Roadmap is intended to identify administrative,
regulatory, legislative, procurement, incentive-based, and other measures to reduce emissions in
different sectors of the state’s economy to achieve the 2025 and 2030 reduction goals in a cost-effective
and equitable way and to ensure that Colorado is on a path to meeting the 2050 GHG goals.
City Support
The City of Fort Collins submitted a letter of support for the State’s goals and efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions that highlighted the following:
Alignment, support, and advocacy for an equity-centered approach to climate action.
Thoughts from our history of climate action and leadership regarding which strategies to include
in the Roadmap and how to implement them.
Encouragement to define commitments and specific, enforceable strategies to achieve GHG
reduction goals.
Dedication to partnership with the State to achieve these important goals.
Attachment: Letter to State re GHG Pollution Reduction Roadmap
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Sustainability Services
222 Laporte Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970-221-6600
fcgov.com
To: Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Kate Greenberg, Commissioner, Colorado Department of Agriculture
Shoshona Lew, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Transportation
Jill Ryan, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Will Toor, Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office
From: Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Fort Collins
Date: November 10, 2020
Re: Letter of Support for State Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap
The City of Fort Collins (the City) is writing to express our support for the State’s goals and efforts to
reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the development of the GHG Pollution Reduction
Roadmap. In Fort Collins this year, the impacts of the Cameron Peak Fire have made it increasingly
evident that sweeping, timely action is needed to limit the worst effects of climate change, particularly
for frontline communities. We applaud the Governor's strong goals for emissions reductions and
advocate for strengthening commitments to clear, enforceable strategies, policies, and timelines on how
to achieve these goals while determining how to lead with equity in both process and outcome.
The City recognizes the importance and urgency of reducing greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado,
nationally and internationally. The Roadmap is an important step that provides a general sense of how
to achieve the carbon pollution reductions needed. We are aligned with these goals, and we believe that
our lessons learned from the past 20 years of climate action, as well as our current experience with a
joint update to our Climate Action Plan, Energy Policy, and Road to Zero Waste, can provide the State
helpful insights as it undertakes this critical work. We are highly interested in and committed to
strengthening partnerships between the State and local governments in this work.
Equity:
We celebrate the State’s inclusion of an equity statement in the Roadmap, as the City is also working to
acknowledge the role of government in creating and perpetuating systems of oppression and racism,
and is committed to dismantling those same systems. However, we are concerned that while the
Roadmap discusses equity, it does not specify how equitable processes and outcomes will be ensured
through this effort.
Equity in process. At the City, we consider equity in process to mean that everyone has meaningful
opportunities to engage and provide input in City processes. By ensuring that everyone has a seat at the
table and is heard, equitable outcomes are more possible. Some ways we have begun this work are to
build strong partnerships with community leaders; to undertake a stakeholder mapping exercise to
identify those with limited power in current dominant systems but who are highly impacted by decisions
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made; and to identify and work to mitigate barriers to participation, particularly those in the way of
historically underrepresented groups.
Equity in outcome. We consider equity in outcome to mean that everyone benefits from the result of
the plan or policy; for example, everyone benefitting from a carbon neutral Colorado would be equity in
outcome. One important step toward this goal would be to identify who in our state is currently most
impacted by climate change and to choose appropriate strategies to pursue based on their input and
benefit.
Additionally, our philosophy in updating the City’s Climate Action Plan, Energy Policy, and Road to Zero
Waste is that focusing on and prioritizing first what community members need to thrive and then
aligning action to reduce emissions, save energy, and eliminate waste will lead to a more feasible and
more equitable plan.
We encourage the State to be transparent about what its commitment is in this space and to keep
working towards equity in both process and outcome as the Roadmap is finalized and implemented.
Built Environment:
We strongly support the inclusion of commercial building benchmarking and performance standards in
the Roadmap. The City began a similar program, the Building Energy and Water Scoring ordinance, in
2018, requiring the phased reporting of all commercial buildings over 5,000 square feet by 2022. For
residential buildings, the City also offers the Epic Homes program for energy efficiency upgrades with
comprehensive energy assessments, rebates, an indoor environmental quality study and attractive
financing options, of which the Colorado Energy Office has been an important partner. Epic Homes also
includes a certificate with the pre- and post-upgrade Department of Energy’s Home Energy Score.
Programs like this are expected to lower the cost of utility bills for businesses and residents and create
opportunities for valuing efficiency in the marketplace, in addition to progressing climate action. We
anticipate opportunities to align data and reporting tools between the three Colorado communities with
existing benchmarking programs, including Fort Collins, with potential state requirements.
We strongly support the targets for building efficiency shell improvements that are included in the HB-
1261 Scenario. We encourage expansion on the strategies and tactics necessary to achieve these results
in the Roadmap. While the noted modernization of gas efficiency programs is helpful, the scale of the
proposed outcome of 100% improvements to new and existing buildings cannot be accomplished
through this mechanism.
Net Zero Codes Roadmap for Jurisdictions. Since Colorado is a home-rule state, building codes are
determined by jurisdictions. However, some jurisdictions use outdated or minimal codes energy
efficiency building codes. Including a roadmap and outreach materials aimed at building departments
for net zero new construction by 2030, 2035, or 2040 would help create alignment and action across the
state. The State could set a policy to adopt the latest, most efficient energy codes, which would help
contractors who service multiple jurisdictions. Tools such as ordinance and/or code language based on
the International Code Council, energy code trainings, and outreach to the local building community (all
funded by the Colorado Energy Office) would benefit every community.
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Transportation:
Electrification of Transportation. Like the State, the City also has ambitious goals for an electric vehicle
transition. We encourage the State to consider an earlier target year for electrifying transportation and
having the appropriate infrastructure in place, as transportation is and will increasingly be a large sector
of Colorado’s emissions. The joint movement of renewable electricity and transportation electrification
by 2040 instead of 2050 would be transformative for our State and our residents. Additionally, State-
level planning and activity is critical for local governments like Fort Collins to make meaningful progress,
as many residents require reliable, convenient access to charging infrastructure beyond our city
boundaries.
Alternative Transportation. Electrification is one important tool to reduce emissions from
transportation, in a suite that includes transportation demand management, community design, and
alternate modes, as noted in the Roadmap. We strongly support increased evaluation and consideration
of these strategies in addition to EVs, as we have significant experience in this area and have seen the
positive impacts for our community. For example, the City’s Transportation Master Plan describes our
vision of a multi-modal transportation system that reduces the focus on and necessity of single-
occupancy vehicles (SOVs). While reducing emissions, moving away from dependence on SOVs also
reduces costs and increases wellbeing for community members. Direction from the state level on these
strategies could also help close the gap on regional non-SOV transportation.
Oil and Gas:
The Roadmap supports implementation of Senate Bill 181 related to oil and gas emissions, through
updates in rulemakings through the Colorado Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC) and the Colorado
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Per the City’s Legislative Policy Agenda, the City
supports air pollutant reductions, and is actively engaged in these rulemaking discussions. The City is
also looking at increased local controls, in consideration of new local authority granted through SB-181.
Once these rulemakings are complete, it will be important through the GHG Framework to ensure that
O&G emissions are well characterized and that reductions proposed are sufficient to meet GHG goals.
Waste:
Though waste is responsible for a small portion of the state’s overall GHG emissions, reducing waste can
reduce upstream, supply chain emissions, the magnitude of which is perhaps best illustrated by a
consumption-based inventory. Additionally, diverting material from the landfill through composting
programs directly contributes to reducing landfill emissions, and reducing waste going to the landfill in
general has significant environmental benefits. In the City, we are considering climate action and waste
reduction together, as they are interrelated and both important in our community. Having additional
consideration and strategy identification for waste reduction in the Roadmap would provide benefit
towards reducing emissions and supporting communities in taking stronger action.
Inventory, Forecast, and Modeling:
From our history of climate action work, we know intimately the challenges of GHG inventories,
forecasts, and models and can also speak to their necessity. Principally, we have learned the following:
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• Alignment between creation of a recent inventory and forecast and a planning process is helpful
to ascertain areas of focus and have an accurate starting point for strategy development,
• Modeling each strategy or policy’s impact towards goals is crucial to prioritize and determine
appropriate action, as well as to reflect on if progress occurs where expected,
• Identifying and assessing impacts across emissions, costs, individual health, community climate
resilience, and social wellbeing are important for prioritizing and making progress on strategies,
as well as communicating the reasons for undertaking such strategies,
• These tools can point to necessary changes to current strategies, highlighting the strong benefits
of a living, amendable document that can afford agility in a time when this is needed to achieve
aggressive goals.
Thank you for providing us the opportunity to be involved in the Roadmap and to help propel us
towards a healthier, safer, and more equitable Colorado. The City of Fort Collins would like to extend its
appreciation and support of the State’s work and to urge definition of commitments towards specific
policies and timelines that will hold all of us accountable for the wellbeing of residents of Colorado and
the world. We look forward to partnering with you to achieve our shared goals. Please reach out to me
directly with any questions or any opportunities for us to further our involvement and support.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel
Chief Sustainability Officer
City of Fort Collins, CO
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