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City staff say municipal greenhouse gas emissions are ahead of 2023 target but community emissions lag; council accepts report
Summary
City staff reported that municipal operations are on track or ahead of the city’s 2023 reduction target while the communitywide greenhouse-gas inventory is not meeting the 2025 community reduction goal; council accepted the report and asked for follow-up.
City staff presented the municipal and community greenhouse-gas (GHG) inventory and told the Los Angeles City Council the municipal inventory is ahead of the city’s 2023 target while the community inventory remains behind the 2025 reduction goal.
Laura McGalous and Daniel Skin (identified in the presentation as members of the inventory team) described the two inventories and explained the difference between municipal emissions — the city’s own operations — and community emissions, which cover all activity occurring inside city limits whether or not it is operated by the city.
Presenters reported the municipal inventory is roughly 8 percent ahead of the 2023 target and said municipal reductions reflect reduced activity in some categories and progress electrifying the city fleet. By contrast, the community inventory has reached a 33 percent reduction while the 2025 community target is a 50 percent reduction, meaning additional action is necessary to reach the community goal.
Staff noted the municipal inventory follows an operations-based protocol focused on city-controlled assets (vehicles, facilities and city services), while the community inventory follows a separate community protocol that attributes emissions to activity happening within city boundaries, including sources outside direct city control. They said further reductions at the community scale will require multi-pronged policies on transportation, building energy and behavior change, as well as more renewable energy in the city’s power mix.
The presenters also noted the city recently received an A rating from CDP for its environmental reporting and described the inventory’s role in identifying where policies can achieve the largest reductions. Councilmembers asked questions about data sources, differences between municipal and community protocols, and the timeline for seeing the effects of new policies.
After questions, the council moved to accept the report and directed staff to return with any additional follow-up requested during the hearing. The vote to accept the report was recorded in the meeting minutes; the item advanced with recorded support from members present.
