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Mountain View inventory shows 2023 emissions down vs. pre-pandemic rolling average; transportation remains largest source
Summary
The Climate Sustainability Committee accepted the city's 2023 greenhouse gas inventory showing community emissions 32% below the rolling average baseline; on-road transportation continued to account for the largest share of emissions, and staff flagged natural gas in buildings as a persistent source.
The Mountain View Climate Sustainability Committee unanimously accepted the city's 2023 community greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, which staff reported shows 2023 emissions about 32% below a four-year rolling-average baseline drawn from pre-pandemic years.
Sustainability staff said the inventory was prepared using the US Community Protocol, combining direct measures (energy, water, organics to landfill) and modeled estimates (on-road transportation and off-road equipment). Staff emphasized they are shifting to a rolling-average approach to reduce year-to-year noise caused by pandemic-era anomalies and said the inventory should be used as a trend tool to evaluate whether community actions and state policies are reducing emissions.
Key findings: staff reported transportation accounted for 58% of community emissions in 2023, with passenger light-duty gasoline vehicles the dominant source within transportation. Daily per-capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fell from a four-year average of 18.4 miles to 14.8 miles in 2023, a change staff attributed in part to pandemic-related shifts in commuting patterns in addition to emission-reduction strategies. Staff noted zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales comprised about 43% of vehicles sold in Santa Clara County in 2023 (county figure cited by staff).
Energy sector details and building electrification: electricity and natural gas together comprised roughly 32% of total community emissions, and staff noted that natural gas emissions have remained mostly constant and make up more than 70% of the energy-sector emissions. Staff described city efforts to encourage building electrification, including reach-code updates and a "Year of the Water Heater" campaign that offers heat-pump water heater rebates; staff said Silicon Valley Clean Energy provided a $100,000 grant to support the campaign.
Wastewater and other sectors: staff reported a meaningful reduction in wastewater-related emissions attributed to operations at the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant. Solid-waste emissions rose in 2017through 2019 and then declined; staff said those swings correlate with economic and construction activity and with evolving state organic-waste regulations.
Methodology and next steps: sustainability staff (climate fellows Grace Khan and Remy Rin) described the methodology and said staff will present a multifamily EV charging gap analysis to the committee in June. Staff also said the inventory will inform the citywide decarbonization strategy and that inventory cadence and methods remain under review; they may recommend biannual community inventories in future.
Public comment and committee discussion: residents and committee members urged continued emphasis on active transportation and transit, better tracking of long-term trends (for example, gasoline use per square foot), and inclusion of additional emissions categories where feasible. Committee members and several public commenters asked staff to include clear goals or goal-tracking visuals in future inventories; staff agreed to consider adding goals and to continue outreach to peer jurisdictions and tool providers.
Action: The committee accepted the inventory and voted unanimously to forward the report to the City Council for review and any direction.
