EPIC recently submitted comments on the draft Humboldt County Climate Action Plan. The comments were draft and submitted in collaboration with our fantastic friends: 350 Humboldt, Climate 911, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Humboldt Coalition for Clean Energy, Humboldt Waterkeeper, the Northcoast Environmental Center, and Redwood Coalition for Climate & Environmental Responsibility. You can view our letter here.
Roughly, the Plan works like this: For Humboldt’s largest greenhouse gas emitting sector, transportation, the Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled through increasing trips made by foot, bike or bus while also attempting to reduce the carbon intensity of other vehicle miles traveled through actions that will help accelerate electrifying vehicles. The Plan also looks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through building electrification, reducing organic waste, and reducing emissions from wastewater. The Climate Action Plan is limited in what it can do, as local governments have limited powers given that federal and state law preempt many other measures.
Implementation of the Plan will fall to a new “Regional Climate Committee.” The Committee will be charged with a variety of tasks, from “develop[ing] and provid[ing] models, pilot programs, and template policies or ordinances” to “identify[ing] locations throughout the county that are priority for utility-scale, nano-grid, and micro-grid solar, hydropower, and/or wind energy generation” to “[d]evelop[ing]” and administer[ing]” a “home energy advisory service.”
Although the Committee is central to the Plan, the Committee’s makeup and powers are unclear. Who is on the Committee? Who knows! Is the Committee separate from existing local governments? Next question. Is the Committee staffed? The Plan acknowledges that staffing is important, but punts on how many staffers will ultimately be needed (or where the funding for those positions might come from). Our motley band of conservation groups recommend that the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) ultimately house the Regional Climate Committee, both because HCAOG is already charged with coordination of transportation issues (again, the #1 source of countywide greenhouse gas emissions) and because it already has experience as an inter-jurisdictional joint powers authority.
In total, the Plan is…fine. It could be more ambitious (the Regional Transportation Plan contains a bolder target reduction in vehicle miles traveled, for example), and we think some of the claimed emission reductions from the Plan are exaggerated. But the general consensus of our groups is that fighting over some of the remaining issues risks further delay. We need local climate action now.
Addressing climate change is going to be politically difficult because it will require shifting priorities. Eureka offers the latest example of climate inaction. The City applied for and obtained $1.9 million in grant funding to create 21 Level-2 and Level-3 chargers at 14 new electric vehicle charging sites. These sites were chosen because they are well-distributed through the city, tied to important public locations (like parks), and 70% are in under-resourced areas of the city. The City is now recommending returning the grant, because they would be responsible for a match of $400,000, something that was apparently not clear when the City applied. Eureka could use discretionary funds to fill that gap, but instead only want to take climate action when it is paid for by someone else.
Comments