Sunnyvale staff report 2024 greenhouse gas inventory spike tied to data and supplier issues; staff recommends metrics changes

City staff presented the City of Sunnyvale’s 2024 greenhouse gas inventory and an update on implementation of Game Plan 2028 at a joint meeting of the Sustainability Commission and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission on Oct. 23, 2025. Madeline Kerr, environmental programs manager, said the inventory shows an uptick in community-wide emissions that staff believe reflects accounting and data-source changes rather than a sudden surge in local emissions.

Why it matters: The inventory is the chief measure the city uses to track progress toward a 56% reduction below 1990 greenhouse gas levels by 2030. A single-year increase in the published inventory—if not clearly explained—can affect public perception, grant applications and policy choices, staff told commissioners.

Kerr said two primary drivers explain the 2024 increase. First, Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) relied on unspecified grid power for a portion of its supply in 2024 because drought-reduced hydro output and a tight renewable market limited available carbon-free energy. That decision increased the electricity-emissions factor for the city for the year. Kerr said SVCE’s board chose not to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset those emissions because buying RECs for that year would have cost “millions of dollars,” and SVCE preferred to invest in long-term, directly procured clean energy projects. Kerr characterized the 2024…