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City reports departmental climate action plans; port outlines shoreside power and retrofit projects
Summary
City staff reported that 37 departments submitted municipal climate action plans, highlighted data-collection challenges and next steps for a centralized database and a proposed carbon fund; port officials described shoreside power at Pier 27 and building retrofits funded in part by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
City and county officials reported progress implementing municipal climate action plans and described related port energy projects during the Government Audit and Oversight Committee meeting.
Wade Crowfoot of the mayor—s office summarized the ordinance requiring departmental climate action plans and framed municipal operations as a leadership area for climate policy. Crowfoot said the ordinance sets ambitious targets: a community-wide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2012 and an 80% reduction below 1990 levels by 2050. He noted municipal operations account for roughly 6% of community emissions and that the city uses a 1990 baseline of about 8,300,000 metric tons of CO2e for community-wide accounting.
Kala Ostrander, climate coordinator at the Department of the Environment, presented findings from departmental plans: 37 departments submitted plans with common measures such as efficiency standards for technology, recycled-paper purchasing and commuter benefits. Ostrander said the largest challenge is consolidating disparate data streams (energy, fuel, waste and commuting) and described plans for a centralized database that will add water metrics next year. She cited operational successes including the airport—s 7.5% electricity reduction driven by behavioral changes and expanded PUC-conducted energy audits that have identified retrofit projects with paybacks under five years.
Port officials described projects to reduce emissions and energy use. Brad Benson, Special Projects Manager with the Port of San Francisco, said the port is completing lighting and HVAC retrofits for port-paid accounts and has received Bay Area Air Quality Management District funding to install shoreside power (cold-ironing) at its main cruise berth at Pier 27. "We're in contract negotiations with our contractor Cochrane and expect to commence construction on that project very shortly," Benson said. He also described potential federal stimulus funding to expand shoreside power and work with BAE Systems at the Pier 70 dry dock.
Public commenters urged more empirical data and tighter monitoring of private-sector pollution. Francisco DeCosta raised concerns about an MTA diesel spill and methane emissions in specific neighborhoods and asked that pollution incidents and industrial contributions be incorporated into analyses; the Port and city officials said they would provide more data.
Committee members and staff committed to continued reporting and to making departmental data available for public review as consolidation proceeds. The committee continued the item for future updates.
