TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Tony Olmos, Public Works Director
Sona Coffee, Environmental Programs Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Letter of Support for the City’s Participation in the Compact of Mayors Initiative to Assess the Impacts of Climate Change in Manhattan Beach (Public Works Director Olmos).
APPROVE
Line
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council approve the letter of support stating the City’s commitment to participate in the Compact of Mayors initiative to assess the impacts of climate change in the City of Manhattan Beach.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Compact of Mayors is a global agreement by city networks to combat climate change in a consistent and complimentary manner to national efforts. The program requires the completion of four steps to produce a Climate Action Plan in a three-year period. City Council approval is needed to register the community’s commitment to participate in the Compact of Mayors program.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications are associated with this action.
BACKGROUND:
Manhattan Beach has a long history of environmental sensitivity, as a community and as a city government. City Council has made sustainability a priority goal, and consistently supports environmental issues and climate change policies at the local and state levels.
The Compact of Mayors is the world’s largest cooperative effort among mayors and city leaders to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, track progress, and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Any city or town in the world may participate, regardless of size or location.
The City has already made progress on climate issues by conducting a GHG inventory, developing a municipal Climate Action Plan (CAP), and partnering with several organizations to develop a community-wide CAP that includes information on climate mitigation and adaptation measures. Each of these areas are requirements of the Compact of Mayors initiative, and the City is well on its way to completing these tasks.
Climate mitigation and adaptation measures are important to crafting a comprehensive plan to combat climate change. This two-pronged approach allows a city to not only consider the negative impacts that cause climate change, but also plan positively for a more sustainable future. The City of Manhattan Beach is taking steps to include these mitigation and adaptation measure in its future goals, and will be able to transition these efforts into the Compact of Mayors program.
Existing Partnerships on Climate Issues
The City of Manhattan Beach is working with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) to prepare a community-wide CAP to serve as the City’s roadmap for reducing GHG emissions in municipal operations and the community at large. The SBCCOG received grant funding to complete the GHG inventory, as well as develop a CAP for the City, from Southern California Edison.
The City also participates in the SBCCOG’s partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC), which seeks to foster a network of decision-makers in the Los Angeles County region to perform climate mitigation and adaptation work, using cutting edge research on local climate impacts and information management systems. LARC’s mission is to ensure a sustainable Los Angeles that is prepared for the impacts of climate change.
In conjunction with LARC, the City of Manhattan Beach participates in the AdaptLA collaboration between the City of Los Angeles, USC Sea Grant, and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. AdaptLA was awarded grant funding to assess the impacts of sea level rise on coastal communities, including coastal infrastructure and properties, and the information produced can be reported as part of the Compact of Mayors program.
In addition to continuing participation in these two regional partnerships with LARC and AdaptLA, the Compact of Mayors would enable the City to participate in an international effort to address climate issues and set long-term goals for climate change impacts.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council is being asked to approve a letter that declares the intent of the City of Manhattan Beach to comply with the Compact of Mayors program (Attachment 1).
The Compact of Mayors program covers four major steps to participate:
• Step 1: Registration through a commitment letter sent to the Compact of Mayors;
• Step 2: Conduct a GHG inventory and reporting these findings;
• Step 3: Establish a GHG reduction target, and establish a system to measure GHG emissions from year to year; and
• Step 4: Launch a CAP, and an adaption plan, to reduce GHG emissions and prepare for a sustainable future.
Specifically, this program is asking the City to pledge to publicly report on the following climate initiatives within the next three years:
• GHG inventory (within one year or less);
• Climate hazards for the community (within one year or less);
• Community target to reduce GHG (within two years or less);
• Climate vulnerabilities faced by the community (within two years or less); and
• Plans to address climate change mitigation and adaptation (within three years or less).
Other cities have already completed some of these tasks, or will be compliant in fewer than the three years outlined by the program. The Compact of Mayors program recognizes that existing initiatives and program efforts may already underway.
Manhattan Beach Progress on Issues Relating to the Compact of Mayors Program
As mentioned, the City has taken initial action in several of the task areas required by the Compact of Mayors program. The City’s partnership with the SBCCOG has resulted in GHG data collection, completion of a GHG inventory, and the start to a CAP for the City. Staff will submit the first phase of the work completed by the SBCCOG on energy efficiency measures to include in the CAP at the November 17th City Council meeting. The data collected by the SBCCOG can be applied to the Compact of Mayors program.
In 2010, the City set a goal to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020, which aligns with the State’s goal and can be used in this program. As part of the City’s work with the SBCCOG, current GHG data will be collected so the City can assess whether it needs to update its GHG reduction goals for reporting to the Compact of Mayors program.
Existing work by the City will translate into other steps in the Compact of Mayors program as well. For example, when the City is required to report its GHG emissions for the waste sector as part of the GHG monitoring in Step 3, the newly instituted food waste recycling program can be included as a positive, emissions reduction measure. This program reduces the amount of GHG emissions that would be emitted if the food waste was disposed of through conventional means.
In July 2013, the City Council adopted a resolution to participate in a grant funded project with the AdaptLA initiative to assess sea level rise and climate change impacts. Through the City’s participation in the AdaptLA and LARC programs, climate hazards and vulnerability for the community will be assessed, and that information will be included in the City’s CAP. Work completed by these local partners also includes identifying mitigation and adaptation measures to include in the City’s climate action planning.
More information on requirements for the City’s participation in the Compact of Mayors program is outlined in Attachment 2.
Benefits of Participation
The Compact of Mayors offers a platform to demonstrate the community’s commitment to be part of the global solution to climate change. The benefits of participation in this program include new and widespread recognition of innovative and impactful actions that have been underway in Manhattan Beach for several years.
Transparency is a major benefit of participation because it organizes data collected by the city, and makes it available to the public. The Compact will make this data centrally and publicly available through the Carbonn Climate Registry to highlight commitments and allow for easy searchability. Residents would be able view and request the City’s data, and become better informed about climate change.
The program enables a consistent, standardized and reliable assessment of the City’s progress toward meeting climate commitments. All cities are required to record their data in a uniform manner, so a city can compare progress to other cities across the globe. The program also presents an opportunity to showcase the evidence of the greenhouse gas impacts of city actions.
Finally, as a result of this three year data collection and goal setting process, the Compact of Mayors will culminate in a completed climate action and adaptation plan that is specialized to the City of Manhattan Beach.
CONCLUSION:
As a community that has actively taken action on climate change initiatives, staff recommends that City Council approve the City’s participation in the Compact of Mayors program.
Attachments:
1. Letter of Intent to Register for the Compact of Mayors Program
2. Requirements for the City’s Participation in the Compact of Mayors Program