The City of Albany Climate Action Committee met on April 19, 2023, to discuss topics such as upcoming events, the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and Senate Bill (SB) 511: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories. The next Climate Action Committee will be held on May 17, 2023 at 7pm.

Upcoming Events

The Albany Community Expo will be held on April 29th, at the Albany Community Center from 10 AM to 2 PM. This event provides helpful informational resources, and features live entertainment, great food, a free raffle, kids zone and face painting.
On May 6th, Albany is hosting an Annual Compost Giveaway from 8 AM to 11AM on Carmel Avenue. Residents can take home up to four bags of organic compost, on a first come first serve basis, while supplies last. This compost is from residential food scraps and yard waste.
There will be garage sales throughout the city on May 13th, from 9 AM to 12PM. Maps will be available regarding the locations of these sales.

Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

Michelle Plouse, the Community Development Analyst of Albany,  gave a presentation on Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Key Performance Indicators at this meeting. In 2021, the citywide emissions total was 50,200 metric tons of CO2, which equates to 2.44 tons per person. According to Plouse, the biggest contributor to these emissions was transportation, taking up 48% of total emissions. Over time, since 2005, emissions have gone down drastically, due to the switch to East Bay Community Energy, which provides residents with 100% clean, renewable energy. Transportation emissions have gone down steadily as well, due to an adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), with 8% of Albany’s current vehicle population consisting of EVs. In regards to home electrification, 2000 KW of solar have been installed since 2017, and 11 all- electric units have been built in 2022. To help further decrease carbon emissions, the City has taken other actions, such as amending zoning ordinances to require higher density development when appropriate, and adopting regulation requiring all-electric new construction. Legislation has also been passed outside of Albany, such as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District phasing out the sale of gas appliances by 2029, a California State policy that requires all vehicles sold to be electric by 2035, and the Federal Infrastructure Bill and Inflation Reduction Act.

SB 511: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories

The Climate Action Committee voted to recommend that the City Council sign the letter in support of SB 511: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories. This is a California Senate Bill introduced by Senator Catherine Blakespear to address data collection regarding climate change. If this bill is passed, it would “(allow) the California Resources Board (CARB) to conduct greenhouse gas emission inventories on behalf of California local governments.” By doing so, this would save local governments substantial time by delegating this responsibility to CARB.

–Rinta Taira