Fifteen of the 19 Contra Costa County cities and the County itself now know their "Carbon Footprint". Under a grant from the San Francisco Foundation, ICLEI has worked closely with Generation Green’s Contra Costa County Climate Leaders (Contra Costa Climate Leaders) to encourage each city to participate in this county-wide effort. A greenhouse gas inventory is the first step in a process to address the issue of climate change. A baseline inventory provides a city with an overview of its emissions allows for tracking trends and helps to identify the primary drivers for greenhouse gas emissions.
Each of these 15 cities has joined ICLEI and agreed to "participate in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and, as a participant, pledges to take a leadership role in promoting public awareness about the causes and impacts of climate change." (www.iclei.org)
Equipped with these inventories in hand, each city will individually discuss, review and address their quantified energy related emissions in their city. The inventory is all inclusive of activities within a city’s boundaries and calculates emissions from all facilities and all sources. Electricity, water, garbage, miles traveled…all of these have associated CO2 emissions, which have been included in the city reports.
Although some may be surprised to see so many cities in this sometimes conservative county taking such a strong stand on this topic, it is important to keep in mind that as city budgets continue to tighten---energy efficiency and cost cutting sustainability measures are a mainstream way of doing city business and saving money. One should note that Contra Costa County isn’t on unchartered turf. Cities and the counties of Sonoma and Alameda completed their emissions inventories years ago. More than 700 mayors across the country, representing a total population of over 72 MILLION citizens have signed the US Mayor’s agreement on Global warming, are calculating their inventories and writing Climate Action Plans. http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/listofcities.asp
Ed Balico, former Mayor of Hercules says: "Taking on the issue of Global warming is something I feel is important to the residents of my community. By addressing this important issue we are not only solving environmental problems, but we are positioning our city for future generations to enjoy the same things we have. Not only do we have the benefit of clean air, less waste, and less energy. But energy efficiency saves our towns money
Ecologically astute, Lynda Deschambault, Mayor of semi-rural Moraga who helped to initiate the Contra Costa Climate Leaders effort says: "so many of the values of a ‘sustainable city’ have already been part of our town’s achievements over the last several years, and this just really institutionalizes it". Moraga has passed green building guidelines, a construction and demolition debris ordinance, an Integrated Pesticide Management Plan, and spear-headed a curbside food recycling program in the three cities of Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. Now the question is: What’s next?
Each city will be encouraged to set targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and develop a local climate action plan for reaching those targets. Contra Costa County will act as a champion to develop a template for this effort under a recently grant from the Bay Area Air Management District (BAAQMD). An action plan includes strategies to improve energy and transportation efficiency and reduce waste and water usage.
To develop policies that drive changes and achieves results, it is important for cities to share best management practices. ICLEI is developing a website that will allow shared information, and Generation Green’s local efforts are underway with a list serve, monthly newsletter and a website specific to Contra Costa County efforts. www.cccclimateleaders.org
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