RESOLUTION NO. __________
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHULA VISTA DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, climate change is an urgent unfolding crisis that presents a serious threat to communities across the globe; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued their Sixth Assessment report on the devastating human caused impacts of climate change around the globe and attributed these impacts with greater confidence than the previous assessment; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calls for governments to achieve ‘net -zero’ emissions as soon as possible, and maintain net -negative emissions after that to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change; and
WHEREAS, the United States’ most recent National Climate Assessment aligned with the UN Assessment and made it clear that climate change will have serious impacts across the United States of America, and that the current pace and scale of climate action is not suf ficient to avoid substantial damage to the economy, the environment, and to human health over the coming decades; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista’s mayor attended the 21 st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) where world leaders from 175 countries recognized the threat of climate change and the urgent need to combat it by signing the Paris Agreement, agreeing to keep warming “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”, and to “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C,” which in itself will already cause many devastating effects to the planet; and
WHEREAS, carbon dioxide emissions are the primary anthropogenic driver of climate change and comprise 65 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally and is the focus of transportation and building emission reduction efforts; and
WHEREAS, methane (CH4) accounted for about 16 percent of all GHG emissions from human activities and has an impact that is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100- year period, which adds unique importance to the City's organic waste reduction efforts that target methane reductions; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of the commitments necessary to address the scale and scope of the climate crisis, Governor Jerry Brown issued Executive Order B-55-18 ordering the State of California to achieve net-zero emissions as soon as possible, and no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net-negative emissions thereafter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista’s Mayor is on the Steering Committee for Climate Mayors, a bipartisan, peer-to-peer network of more than 470 U.S. mayors demonstrating climate leadership through meaningful actions in their communities; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista is one of more t han 470 jurisdictions that signed the US Mayor’s Agreement on Climate Protection which commits cities to take measures which reduce the emission of GHG’s, save energy and help sustain the environment; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista is a member of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and has joined the Race to Zero with over 130 other jurisdictions that have agreed to update our previous targets included in the adopted Climate Action Plan with proposed science- based GHG reduction targets of 57% below 2018 levels by 2030; and
WHEREAS, Chula Vista and the rest of California already suffer from the impacts of climate change and will be required to implement appropriate adaptation measures to address the drought, air pollution, extreme heat, species stress, negative health effects, wildfires, and floods, and these disasters will become more severe as global GHG emissions continue to contaminate the atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization and more than 100 national public health groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that the climate crisis is a health emergency; and
WHEREAS, indigenous and low -income communities and communities of colo r in the United States and abroad have suffered the gravest consequences of climate change and are in jeopardy of societal disintegration in spite of the fact that they contributed little to the causative factors; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has been a regional leader with the adoption of the first Climate Action Plan in the region in 2000, a 2008 update and the first adaptation plan in the region in 2011 then the most recent Climate Action Plan in 2017, implementation of which is estimated will r esult in citywide GHG emissions reductions of at least 50 percent below the baseline by 2035, through targets including 100 percent renewable electricity citywide and designing complete neighborhoods to reduce transportation emissions; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista worked with its Climate Change Working Group to propose seven climate action recommendations that were approved by City Council including reducing emissions from the building and transportation sector, achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, banning single use plastics, and increasing equity as a focus of City actions; and
WHEREAS, we in the City of Chula Vista, in partnership with the San Diego region, can rise to the challenge of this great crisis with the active consultation, participat ion, and benefit of workers and disadvantaged communities, creating many well -paying local jobs in building and installing renewable energy infrastructure, growing healthy plant -based food that stays in the community, restoring ecosystems, and retrofitting and redesigning our current environment, electric grid, and transportation systems; and
WHEREAS, over 2,000 jurisdictions around the world have declared Climate Emergencies, including 160 in the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista as follows:
1. A state of climate emergency is hereby declared.
2. The City of Chula Vista acknowledges that a global climate crisis exists and poses a serious, urgent, and pressing threat to the well -being of Chula Vista, its inhabitants, economy, and environment , and therefore there is need for immediate action s to address the global climate crisis.
3. The City of Chula Vista commits to consider environmental, economic, and social justice in its climate actions by actively seeking input from all community stakeholders.
4. The City of Chula Vista commits to regularly updating its City Operations Sustainability Plan to ensure all practical sustainable practices are taken at facilities and in procurement.
5. The City of Chula Vist a commits to ensuring that the City’s actions remain in alignment with the most current scientific findings regarding climate change and that it will continue to rely on and solicit the advice and guidance of scientific experts.
6. The City of Chula Vista reaffirms its goals laid out in the most recent Climate Action Plan and adaptation plan to implement a Zero Waste Plan, reduce vehicle miles travelled, and reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035 or earlier.
7. The City of Chula Vista accepts the proposed science-based GHG reduction targets of 57% below 2018 levels by 2030 that best reflect the most recent climate science findings and Chula Vista's "Fair Share" based on the UN human development index.
8. The City of Chula Vista calls for a regional emergency climate action mobilization collaborative effort, forming synergistic and strategic alliances with nearby jurisdictions and boundary spanning organizations to take advantage of economy of scale, and for united engagement against the common threat of our climate crisis.
9. The members of the City Council of the City of Chula Vista directs the City Manager to send a copy of this resolution to the City’s state and federal legislative delegations, to the Governor of California, and to the President of the United States.
Presented by Approved as to form by
Eric C. Crockett Glen R. Googins
Deputy City Manager City Attorney