Climate Action Committee Meeting, Nov 20, 2019

Albany Climate Action Committee Brought the Climate Action and Adaption Plan to City Council, December 2.

ALBANY, CA –– After months of revision, the Albany Climate Action Committee held its last public meeting to discuss the final draft of Climate Action and Adaption Plan (CAAP) before it’s brought to the City Council tonight, December 2nd.

A city staff member started the November 20th meeting, for which about 10 people attended, by presenting to the public the final draft of CAAP. She explained that the city had worked hard for the past few weeks to incorporate all input, and they were hoping that the committee would approve the CAAP so it could be brought to the city council on December 2nd.

The committee debated whether they should approve the plan. The debate focused on the intermediate goal. One committee member argued that the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from the 2004 baseline level by 2035 was too conservative, and that the deadline should be moved up to 2030. Another committee member argued that the goal should be 70% reduction by 2035.

At the end of the meeting, the Climate Action Committee passed a motion to send the current plan to council with the intermediate goal changed to a  70% reduction by 2030.

Another noteworthy announcement from the meeting was that Albany residents should be prepared for the state law SB 1383, which prohibits any compost going into the landfill. The Martinez News – Gazette reported in July of this year that by 2022, compliance enforcement of the state law will be introduced.