climate pollution (Resolution 89-19A) on June 17th, 2019, by adopting the Climate Action
and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). One of the main purposes of the CAAP is to reduce GHG
emissions community-wide through targeted municipal, residential, industrial, and
commercial activities. The CAAP outlines goals for reducing community greenhouse gas
emissions by 35% by 2035, by 80% by 2050, and by 100% by 2060. The CAAP goals for
reducing municipal operations emissions are 50% by 2035 and 100% by 2050. Each
year, the Office of Sustainability staff conducts greenhouse gas inventories to measure
both community and municipal operations GHG emissions.
Hempel went on to discuss Greenhouse Gas Emissions by sector. Those sectors
include Natural Gas, Solid waste, water & wastewater, transportation, industrial energy,
residential energy and commercial energy. Between 2020 and 2021, emissions increased
in each sector other than solid waste. The largest increase was in the transportation
sector as vehicle miles traveled in 2021 returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels.
Hempel said the City of Columbia’s electric utility is the largest provider of electricity in
Columbia, making the use of renewable energy by the utility vital for reducing energy
sector emissions. Sustainability will be doing more research to find why there are so
many increases.
Hempel said emissions are determined by activity and emission factors. Emissions
factors (EFs) represent the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of energy
provided. Emissions are expressed in units of MTCO2e, and energy is expressed in units
of MMBtu. The City of Columbia electric utility consistently has the highest EF of the four
utilities. Sourcing from an increasing percentage of renewable energy is fundamental to
reducing EFs and achieving community emissions reduction goals.
Sourcing electricity can help us achieve our community emission reduction goals.
Hempel then discussed Municipal Emissions. This looks at emissions from our activity
as an organization. The City’s municipal emissions have trended downward since the
2015 baseline, with an overall 12.2% reduction. Sustainability plans to continue reducing
its municipal emissions through activities outlined in the Climate Action and Adaptation
Plan (CAAP).
Mayor Buffaloe asked if the CEC & CAAP reports will be moved to get them together.
Eric said yes.
Hempel plans to work with Brandon Renaud on evaluating USD programs’ climate positive
impacts.
II. ANY OTHER ITEM COUNCIL WISHES TO DISCUSS
None.
III. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:56pm