Many Peninsula cities slow to act on climate change, New survey

A survey of actions taken by cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties shows a high concern for the issue of climate change but mixed results when it comes to taking action.

The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta chapter has been successful in persuading cities to adopt significant emissions reduction goals, according to a survey released today. Following through on that commitment is the next step, and organizers say it can't come too soon.

Twenty-three of the 35 cities in both counties, along with the counties themselves, have adopted the emissions-reduction targets in the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement at the urging of local activists with the Sierra Club's "Cool Cities" campaign since 2006.

The agreement calls on cities to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, both at the municipal level and in neighborhoods, to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 — in line with the targets of the Kyoto Protocol.

Most of those cities will have completed inventories of their own government's carbon "footprints" by the end of 2008. The next step will be to figure out how to reduce emissions, according to the report.

Cities that have chosen not to commit include Belmont, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, San Carlos and five other cities in San Mateo County; and Gilroy and Milpitas in Santa Clara County.

The next step for cities will be to compose a plan of action that tackles everything from giving people incentives to limit their commutes to making it affordable for residents to put solar panels on their homes.

But the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, and while cities are waiting to compose their action plans, the report points out several actions cities could be taking right now but appear to be resisting for one reason or another.

"We've seen a combination of public activism and general awareness that has led to greater levels of civic engagement, but a lot of them are having problems with the execution for a variety of reasons," said Julio Magalhaes, coordinator of the global warming program for the local chapter of the Sierra Club and author of the report.

One example of an area in which changes could pay immediate dividends is reforming a city's building code to require that residential and commercial buildings meet minimum "green building" standards — and not just voluntary ones, he said.

The electricity and natural gas combustion associated with buildings is the second-biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., according to Magalhaes.

The Sierra Club report notes that most cities in Santa Clara County will have such requirements in place by year's end if they don't already, whereas only San Mateo County itself has instituted tough new "green" building standards for new homes and homes undergoing major renovations. Atherton and the city of San Mateo are expected to follow suit, but most of the other cities that responded to the survey haven't taken any action yet, the report says.

Several cities, including Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Hillsborough and Millbrae, did not respond to the survey despite repeated requests.

"It is striking how many more cities in Santa Clara County expect to have something accomplished in 2008," Magalhaes said. "There have been some commitments but there need to be decisive actions to step up to the challenges and that's not happening (in San Mateo County)."

San Mateo City Manager Susan Loftus said neighboring cities were paying attention when San Mateo required LEED silver certification for all new municipal buildings beginning a few years ago, and they will be watching as the city eases into its new regimen of "green" building requirements in 2009 along with an education campaign.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a "green building" rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

"We'll give people suggestions for things like energy savings, water savings," Loftus said. For other cities, she said, "I don't think it's a matter of if, I think it's a matter of when. I think you'll see this more widely in the county, in other jurisdictions."

In Foster City, however, Assistant City Manager Kristi Chappelle defended the City Council's decision not to adopt the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which is nonbinding. She said the city did not have enough data to show that Foster City could benefit from meeting the goals laid out in the agreement. She pointed out that Foster City is working on a carbon footprint analysis of its own.

"Is it feasible? It it cost effective? Our council is not particularly interested in symbolism for symbolism's sake," Chappelle said. "We want realistic goals, so if we say we're going to reduce (emissions) by 20 percent we've got some steps in place to make sure that it's a possible goal."

Magalhaes said the "wait-and-see" attitude many cities have adopted points to the fact that the California Air Resources Board has provided no regional guidance or financial assistance to cities that are attempting to move forward on their own to meet the emissions reduction standards in AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

The Sierra Club has urged state officials to support cities' efforts and not just focus on capping industrial emissions. In the meantime, Magalhaes is hoping Silicon Valley activists will use the latest survey results to press for more action in San Mateo County.