Title
Phoenix Climate Action Plan
Description
This report provides the 2021 City of Phoenix Climate Action Plan and requests approval to adopt the plan. The Climate Action Plan is a community-wide plan with a goal to achieve a 50 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction (below the 2018 baseline) by 2030 and net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. The Climate Action Plan describes goals and actions for addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the sectors of energy, transportation, and waste and addresses resiliency goals in the areas of air quality, heat, local food systems, and water.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix recognizes the impacts of climate change and has implemented projects and programs that reduce GHG emissions. Phoenix voters supported an ambitious vision in the 2015 General Plan to become the most sustainable desert city on the planet. A sustainable city improves the quality of life for everyone while allowing nature to thrive. In 2016 the Phoenix City Council adopted 2050 Sustainability Goals that set long-term outcomes necessary to fulfill this vision, and now, this Climate Action Plan (Plan) proposes actions to put Phoenix on a path to achieving the ambitious, long-term 2050 goals. An Executive Summary can be found in Attachment A. Electronic copies of the full Plan can also be found online, in English and Spanish, at the webpage below.
Phoenix Climate Action Plan:
https://www.phoenix.gov/oep/cap
In 2020, the City joined C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of the world’s major cities committed to addressing climate change. C40 has asked leading cities to commit to stop any rise in GHG emissions after 2020 as well as achieve substantial carbon emissions reductions by 2030 to help curb global emissions and limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Climate action planning is not new to Phoenix. Phoenix has invested $600 million in climate actions in recent years including:
$30 million in LED Streetlight project replacing 100,000 streetlights;
$16.9 million in a state-of-the-art compost facility;
$25 million in a biogas facility;
$30 million in retrofits underway to reduce energy use in City buildings;
$530 million in transit since 2016 under the Phoenix Transportation Plan (T2050) for extended bus and paratransit operating hours, and increased local bus frequency to every 30 minutes or less Citywide; and
45 miles of cool pavement installed - more than any other city in the world.
Plan Development and Community Engagement
The Plan was developed by the Office of Environmental Programs with contributions from 29 City departments as well as public and stakeholder input on the Climate Action Plan Framework presented in Fall 2020 and the Draft Climate Action Plan presented in Summer 2021.
The City’s commitment to include equity principles is integral in all phases of development and implementation of this Plan and requires partnerships and dialogue with everyone, including traditionally under-represented groups. The challenges of the pandemic and inability to meet in person resulted in primarily virtual workshops and meetings, electronic surveys, and social media engagements. The City partnered with community and business groups to present the Plan, such as CHISPA AZ, Arizona Green Chamber of Commerce, Unlimited Potential, American Society of Civil Engineers, Union of Concerned Scientists and Youth-focused groups.
The following summarizes outreach provided in English and Spanish from Fall of 2020 through August 2021:
399,000 social media views;
440,000 Grocery TV ad impressions;
2,659 survey responses;
12 virtual workshops with 534 participants; and
87 email comments received.
A copy of the Plan’s Survey Results Summary is included in Attachment B.
Plan Overview
The goals identified in the Plan will help prepare for the effects of climate change, put the City on a path to reduce GHG emissions by a minimum of 50 percent by 2030, and achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
The following significant goals and actions are identified in the Plan:
Create an inclusive and equitable city, prioritizing investments in previously underserved communities, proactively seeking community input on all major climate policy and related budget decisions and embedding equity in all climate actions;
Lead by example by transitioning City operations electrical use to carbon neutral by 2030 through energy use reduction and implementation of local and utility scale solar projects;
Reduce community carbon emissions from buildings, transportation, and waste to move toward becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050;
Support increased energy efficiency, renewable energy and new electric vehicle charging requirements in building codes, to achieve carbon neutral buildings Citywide by 2050 with all new construction being net-positive in both energy and materials by 2050;
Attract businesses that turn waste into resources and create a thriving Resource Innovation Campus by 2030 to put the City on the path to zero waste by 2050;
Support and prepare for 280,000 electric vehicles in the City by 2030 and rapidly expand bus and High-Capacity Transit (Light Rail and Bus Rapid Transit) to achieve carbon neutral transportation by 2050;
Support new land use and development tools, such as the Walkable Urban Code, to prioritize people arriving by walking, biking, or using transit, thereby reducing dependence on gasoline-fueled single occupancy vehicles, particularly within and connecting to Transit Oriented Development Districts, Village Cores and Centers, by the year 2050;
Become a top tier Heat-Ready City by 2025 by implementing the Tree and Shade Master Plan by 2030 and building a network of 200 “cool corridors” by 2050;
Continue to lead internationally in water stewardship by providing a clean and reliable 100-year water supply;
Create and maintain a healthy, sustainable, equitable, and thriving local food system with healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food for all Phoenix residents by 2050; and
Significantly improve air quality in the region to meet federal air quality standards.
The schedule for achieving the Plan’s goals is categorized by short-term (2020-25), medium-term (2025-30), and long-term (2035-50) timeframes. Each sector includes quick start action examples, which are actions currently being taken by the City or proposed that will be completed by 2025. Each sector also includes key achievements and examples of the City leading the way.
Community-Scale GHG Emissions in Phoenix by Sector
The actions Phoenix and others have completed to date have resulted in a decrease in per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2012 to 2018, which is significant because this occurred when the City’s population grew 12 percent and the metro area economy grew 26 percent.
The City has completed a community-scale GHG emissions inventory for calendar year 2018 (with an inventory for 2020 in progress) in partnership with the Arizona State University (ASU) Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service. GHG emissions are inventoried in three sectors: Stationary Energy, Transportation and Waste. The latest inventory from 2018 showed the following:
Stationary Energy Sector - 51 percent of GHG emissions
GHG emissions occur from energy used in residential buildings, commercial buildings and facilities, manufacturing industries, agriculture, forestry and fishing energy use, and electricity transmission and distribution energy losses. GHG emissions from the Stationary Sector continue to decrease as the electricity grid decreases dependence on fossil fuels and increasingly relies on renewable sources.
Transportation Sector - 47 percent of GHG emissions
GHG emissions occur from commercial and civil aviation, on road transportation, non-road vehicle use, freight, and light rail. GHG emissions from the Transportation Sector continue to increase along with population growth, with the majority of emissions resulting from the use of gasoline-fueled vehicles.
Waste Sector - 2 percent of GHG emissions
GHG emissions occur from solid waste disposal, the biological treatment of waste (composting), and wastewater treatment. The GHG emissions from the Waste Sector have decreased over time with the installation of landfill gas capture systems and decreasing emissions from decommissioned landfills.
Currently, the City is on track to achieve 50 percent GHG emissions reduction (below its 2018 baseline) by 2030 and will strive to go beyond that toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Implementing the Climate Action Plan Goals
Implementing the Plan will require the City to work with partners across multiple sectors, since it lacks legal and institutional authority to completely implement all actions necessary on its own. Many climate actions require significant funding to implement, including increased public transit and renewable energy generation. The City continually investigates different financial tools to implement projects. The City has developed one of the nation’s first Green and Sustainability Bond Frameworks to attract new investors interested in supporting sustainable infrastructure. These types of bonds were used for the City’s water infrastructure, which include the Drought Pipeline Project, which will provide water to areas of the City dependent on water sources that are currently decreasing due to climate change.
Political and social considerations were taken when developing the Plan. For example, many individuals prefer or need to travel alone in their passenger vehicles; thus, focus on the Plan was made to transition more internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles and to increase public transit options to make it more convenient. Many of the successful initiatives found within the Plan required political acceptance and support to implement. For example, Transportation 2050 received the approval of voters in 2015 for a 0.7 percent sales tax that augments federal and county funds for transit and street improvements. Practical and technological barriers exist in implementation of public transit options, electric vehicle deployment and renewable energy generation. Transportation options are difficult to implement in a City as widespread as Phoenix where an average trip distance is 18 miles.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Office of Environmental Programs.