AGENDA #4h
MEMORANDUM
TO: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM: J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director
David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Coordinator
SUBJECT: Resolution to Revise the Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) Pledge for Town Municipal Operations
DATE: September 27, 2006
PURPOSE
This memorandum provides an update on the status of the Town of Chapel Hill’s efforts to meet the goals of the Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) pledge. It also clarifies elements of the Town’s pledge in the context of CRed goals adopted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and provides an update on the status of the Orange County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy. Adoption of the attached resolution would revise the preliminary goals of the Town of Chapel Hill CRed pledge.
BACKGROUND
On June 12, 2006, the Council received a status report (Attachment 1) from Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown titled Moving forward on the Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) pledge in Chapel Hill. While the overall goal of the Chapel Hill CRed program is to reduce total carbon emissions throughout the Town, the report proposed that as a first step the Town reduce emissions from municipal operations by pledging to:
- reduce carbon dioxide emissions attributed to Town municipal operations by at least 60 percent by 2050,
- ensure adequate data capture throughout the process,
- develop and implement policies for Town municipal operations which by example will help encourage the university, residential, and industrial sectors within Chapel Hill to work toward carbon dioxide reduction.
The report also proposed the Town register as a CRed site in conjunction with Dr. Crawford-Brown’s annual summer field work in Cambridge, U.K. This item was referred to the Town Manager, the Town Attorney, and the Sustainability, Energy and Environment (SEE) Committee for review.
On June 26, 2006, the Council received a memorandum (Attachment 2) which included a revised CRed status report by Dr. Crawford-Brown reflecting a revised estimate in the range of emissions attributed to Town municipal operations from 13,000-16,000 metric tons per year to 11,000-13,000 metric tons per year. The memo also proposed a list of potential carbon emissions reduction measures for Town operations and a resolution to adopt a pledge to reduce carbon emissions attributed to Town municipal operations according to the following schedule:
- 5 percent reduction by 2010;
- 15 percent reduction by 2015;
- 25 percent reduction by 2020;
- 35 percent reduction by 2025
- 45 percent reduction by 2030;
- 60 percent reduction by 2050.
The resolution was adopted on June 26, 2006.
At that time, staff indicated the proposed resolution targets were preliminary and modification might be warranted after more detailed review of the data collected by Dr. Crawford-Brown.
In the adopted resolution, the Town further pledged to develop policies to encourage a similar reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in other sectors of the Town of Chapel Hill, including the University, commercial, industrial, residential, and transportation sectors and to work with those sectors in implementing those policies.
The resolution also authorized the Town to record the pledge on the CRed website in Cambridge, U.K. and directed the Town Manager to develop procedures to capture relevant data from Town operations.
DISCUSSION
The CRed process defines three sectors within the community which contribute to Town-wide emissions: Town municipal operations, University operations, and non-governmental operations. The diagram below summarizes the contribution of these sectors to the Town’s total carbon dioxide emission.
GOVERNMENTAL SECTORS NON-GOVERNMENTAL SECTORS
Following the June 26, 2006 Council meeting, the Town of Chapel Hill filed its CRed pledge to reduce carbon emissions by at least 60 percent by 2050, beginning with emissions attributed to Town operations, on the CRed website based in Cambridge, U.K.
On June 27, 2006, the University also filed a pledge on the CRed-UK website. Professor Crawford-Brown announced both CRed pledges on June 27, 2006 at a conference of the Carbon Connections project, an effort funded by the British government. The table below compares the adopted preliminary CRed goals for Town municipal operations to those of the University by target year.
|
Calendar Year |
Town Goals June 26, 2006 |
UNC-CH Goals June 27, 2006 |
| 2010 | 5% | |
| 2015 | 15% | 10% |
| 2030 | 25% | 20% |
| 2040 | 35% | 30% |
| 2045 | 45% | 45% |
| 2050 | 60% | 60% |
A comparison of the Town and University CRed goals shows that while the overall goals of each pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2050 are identical, the University has compressed its timeline and quantity goals for emissions reduction.
Proposed Changes to Chapel Hill Carbon Reduction Goals
The carbon reduction goals for Town municipal operations and the timeline for implementation will remain subject to the results of the development of the Orange County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy. This project is the result of the Town’s commitment to the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. ICLEI Energy Services continues to gather data from the Town, as well as Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Orange County. It is anticipated that a report that includes a draft inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for Orange County and a set of potential strategies will be presented to the Orange County lead staff in November 2006.
The CRed goals for University operations and Town municipal operations will each contribute to achievement of the Town-wide carbon reduction goal as well as the pending goals of the Orange County Greenhouse Gas study. Based on this interdependency, we recommend that the Town revise the adopted CRed reduction targets for municipal operations to be more consistent with the University’s goals for carbon reduction. We propose that the Town pledge a 5 percent reduction by 2010; 10 percent reduction by 2015; 20 percent reduction by 2030; 30 percent reduction by 2040; 45 percent reduction by 2045; 60 percent reduction by 2050. While these goals are specific to Town municipal operations, we anticipate bringing recommendations for community-wide goals to the Council at a later date.
Data collected by Dr. Crawford Brown and his students indicated that approximately 11,000-13,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be attributed to Town municipal operations in 2005. At this time, these emissions fall into the following sectors:
- electricity consumption in Town buildings
- natural gas consumption in Town buildings
- streetlights
- transit buses
- non-transit fleet vehicles
- employee commuting
A 60 percent reduction in emissions across all municipal sectors would mean that in 2050, emissions attributed to Town Municipal Operations would fall between 4,400 and 5,200 metric tons per year. The chart below shows the current ratio of each emissions sector associated with Town municipal operations.
We understand the University has based its emissions reduction goals on a per capita basis. Emissions attributed to campus operations in 2005 will be divided by the number of students and employees in 2005 to reach a base per capita emissions rate. The difference between the 2005 base and future per capita ratios will be used to measure progress toward the 60 percent reduction goal.
We believe it is appropriate to verify progress toward the CRed goals for Town municipal operations on a similar basis. Based on Dr. Crawford-Brown’s emissions analysis of Town municipal operations, the 2005 base per capita emissions rate falls between 16.42 and 19.40 metric tons of carbon dioxide per employee per year. Any reduction in this rate will be assessed by comparing the per capita emissions of Town employees in 2050 to the per capita emissions measured in 2005.
In order to meet the proposed carbon reduction goals, the Town will need to monitor and evaluate various aspects of municipal operation. It may be appropriate to consider measures such as energy management for Town buildings and changes in the composition of the municipal fleet. Software and services that can identify inefficiencies in energy use and provide ongoing monitoring of facilities are currently under review by Town staff. We will report to the Council after further evaluation of these options.
We believe the ability to monitor energy use at Town facilities will directly benefit the Energy Bank by providing means for all departments to project and demonstrate savings due to energy efficient equipment.
We will also review options for expanding the Town’s efforts to encourage Town employees to use alternative modes of transportation. Town staff are currently reviewing the Town’s Transportation Management Plan program to address Town employee commuting patterns as well as those of employers within the Chapel Hill community. We expect to bring recommendations to the Council on possible enhancements to the Town-wide and municipal Transportation Management Plan in October 2006.
NEXT STEPS
Town staff will continue to review municipal operations to identify opportunities for reducing carbon emissions.
We will also continue to work with ICLEI toward the development of the Orange County Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategy. We anticipate that the draft strategy will be presented for the Council’s consideration in November 2006.
Collaboration with Dr. Crawford-Brown and his students in the Carolina Environmental Program at UNC will continue this fall. Students will continue to monitor and update the data related to carbon emissions within the Town’s geographic area.
Town staff will also work with the class to develop public awareness strategies and materials for the CRed program.
A more detailed assessment of the appropriateness of the CRed-Chapel Hill pledge will be presented in November 2006 after further review and coordination with the ICLEI Greenhouse Gas Emissions strategy for the larger community.
We will also integrate the CRed pledge in the upcoming revision of the Comprehensive Plan.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Town Council adopt the attached resolution which would revise the timeline for reduction of carbon emissions from Town municipal operations as shown in the table below. The table below compares the proposed milestones to the preliminary goals adopted on June 26, 2006, and the CRed goals of the University.
| Calendar Year | Town Goals June 26, 2006 | UNC-CH Goals June 27, 2006 | Recommended Revision to June 2006 Town Goals |
| 2010 | 5% | 5% | |
| 2015 | 15% | 10% | 10% |
| 2030 | 25% | 20% | 20% |
| 2040 | 35% | 30% | 30% |
| 2045 | 45% | 45% | 45% |
| 2050 | 60% | 60% | 60% |
Adoption of the attached resolution would also define the emission reduction goals on a per capita basis.
ATTACHMENTS