Corte Madera staff: transportation remains largest source of community greenhouse gases; town close to 2030 target

Corte Madera — The Climate Action Committee heard on Aug. 20 that transportation is the largest source of the town’s community greenhouse gas emissions and that Corte Madera is close to meeting its 2030 reduction target, though officials cautioned that remaining reductions will be harder to achieve.

The overview of the 2023 inventory was presented by Christine O’Rourke, sustainability coordinator for the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership. “So there's always about a year and a half or so lag from the data to when we can, share the reports with you,” O’Rourke said as she opened her presentation.

The nut graf: The presentation summarized emissions by sector (transportation, natural gas in buildings, electricity, waste and others), reviewed long-term trends back to 2005 and 1990 estimates, and showed modelled projections. Committee members used the update to press staff on data caveats and on whether local policies will be sufficient to meet a target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and net-zero by 2045 — statewide goals that the town’s plan aligns with.

Key findings presented - Transportation is the largest…