HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft GHG Target setting resolutionDRAFT RESOLUTION (1st revision)
(CARRIED LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN )
PURPOSE: GHG Target (ICLEI Milestone 2)
INITIATED BY: Steve Barney
Whereas, some grants require a sustainability or climate action plan for the mitigation of
climate change, either as a prerequisite or a factor in the application process.
Whereas, Oskhosh Common Council resolution 07 -262, which was passed on Sept 11, 2007,
voluntariliy adopted the Kyoto Protocol's GHG mitigation target of 7% below 1990 by 2012
as a community -wide target for the City of Oshkosh, but the City of Oshkosh has not yet
drafted a plan to meet that target, and the City appears to be very unlikely to achieve that
target by 2012.
Whereas, Oskhosh Common Council resolution 08 -295, which unanimously passed on Aug
26, 2008, directs the City of Oshkosh to follow ICLEI's five milestones, which include:
(2) "Establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target," and
(3) "Devolop an action plan with both existing and future actions which when implemented
will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target."
Whereas, annual average per- capita emissions in the US were about
23.59 tons CO2- equivalent /year in 2007 [1], while the global average was about 1/4 of the
US average, and the average in the City of Oshkosh is probably close to the US average,
while, on March 23, 2010, the UN announced the launching of a greenhouse gas emissions
protocol for cities, which calculates community -wide emissions on a per capita basis.[1]
Whereas, the Copenhagen Accord, persuant to Article 2 of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was signed by the US in ]an 2010, and the US
thereby pledged to reduce its GHG emissions inline by a global mean temperature (GMT)
target of 2 degrees Celcius above the pre - industrial GMT.[2]
Whereas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to meet a 2
degrees C target, global emissions must peak by 2015, and then decline in the range of
50% to 85% below 2000 by 2050.[3]
Whereas, a letter dated ]an 28, 2010, to the Executive Secretary of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, from U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change,
officially indicates the desire of the United States "to be associated with the Copenhagen
Accord," and sets forth its "Quantified economy -wide emissions targets for 2020" as "In the
range of 17 %, in conformity with anticipated U.S. energy and climate legislation,
recognizing that the final target will be reported to the Secretariat in light of enacted
legislation," below the 2005 base year. Furthermore, that letter notes that "The pathway set
forth in pending legislation would entail a 30% reduction in 2025 and a 42% reduction in
2030, in line with the goal to reduce emissions 83% by 2050." The rate of reduction for
those targets is approximately 2% per year. [4]
Whereas, a US target of 17% below 2005 by 2020 is approximately equivalent to acheiving
the US target under Kyoto Protocol (7% below 1990 by 2012) by 2020, instead of 2012.[5]
Whereas, "On January 29, 2010, President Barack Obama announced that the Federal
Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 28 percent by 2020.
Reducing and reporting GHG pollution, as called for in Executive Order 13514 on Federal
Sustainability, will ensure that the Federal Government leads by example in building the
clean energy economy." And "To ensure accountability, annual progress will be measured
and reported online to the public. "[6]
Whereas, the early adoption of low carbon infrustructure allows lower cost for mitigation,
avoids the "carbon lock -in" of long lived carbon intensive infrustructure.
BE IT RESOLVED that the Sustainability Advisory Board advises the Oshkosh Common
Council and City Manager to set an annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of
approximately 3% per year, or 30% below the 2007 baseline by 2020, for municipal
operations (emissions from all municipal owned or operated facilities).
BE IT Further RESOLVED that the Sustainability Advisory Board advises the Oshkosh
Common Council and City Manager to set an annual average per capita greenhouse gas
emissions reduction target of 2% per year, or 20% below the 2007 baseline by 2020, for
community -wide greenhouse gas emissions (emissions from all public and private sources
within the jurisdiction of the City of Oshkosh).
References:
1. "Representative GHG Baselines for Cities and their Respective Countries"
< http: / /www.unep.org /urban environment /PDFs/ Representative- GHGBaselines.pdf
UNEP Press Release: "Cities Get Common Standard for Measuring Greenhouse Gas
Emissions"
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 23 March 2010
< http:// www.unep.org /Documents.Multilingual/
Default. asp ?DocumentID= 617&ArticleID= 6508 &1 =en >;
Urban Environment Unit, UNEP
< http: / /www.unep.org /urban environment >;
Draft International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities
<httD: / /www.uneD.ora /urban environment /PDFs /InternationalStd- GHG.pdf>
2. UNFCCC: Article 2: OBJECTIVE
"The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the
Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve, in accordance with the relevant
provisions of the Convention, stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the
climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time -frame sufficient to allow
ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not
threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."
< http: / /unfccc.int /essential background/ convention /background /items /1353.php
3. 2007 IPCC AR4 WG3, Table 3.10 in Chapter 3, pg 329
< http: / /www.i. pcc.ch /pdf/ assessment - report /ar4 /wg3 /ar4- wg3- chapter3.pdf
4. "United States association with Copenhagen Accord," United States Department of State,
Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change
< http: / /unfccc.int/ files / meetings /application /pdflunitedstatescphaccord app.l.pdf
5. UNFCCC > GHG Data > Global map - Annex I
< http : / /maps. u nfccc. int/di/map >
Full report:
< http: / /unfccc.int /files /gha emissions data /application /pdf /usa gha profile.pdf
6. Whitehouse Blog: "President Obama Sets Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target for
Federal Operations"
< http: / /www.whitehouse. og v /blog/ 2010 /01/29 /president - obama- sets - greenhouse- as-
emissions- reduction - target - federal- operations >;
Whitehouse Press Release: "President Obama Sets Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction
Target for Federal Operations"
< http: //www.whitehouse.gov/ the - press- office /president - obama- sets - greenhouse -gas-
emissions- reduction - target - federal- operations