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Introduction Pleasanton Climate Action Plan Update 1 1 Introduction California considers greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions and the impacts of climate change to be a serious threat to the public health, environment, economic well-being, and natural resources of the State and has taken an aggressive stance to mitigate the impact of climate change at the State-level through the adoption of legislation and policies. Many cities and counties within California have developed local climate action plans and aligned goals to correspond with State emissions reduction targets. The two major State GHG emissions-related goals are established by Assembly Bill (AB) 32 and Senate Bill (SB) 32. AB 32 required State agencies reduce State GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, whereas SB 32 requires a 40 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2030. The goals set by AB 32 were achieved even earlier by the State in 2016,1 and many California jurisdictions are completing updated GHG inventories to quantify progress toward their specific 2020 goals as well as develop targets to align with the requirements of SB 32. There is also Executive Order B-55-18, which was passed in 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown and set a goal for achieving carbon neutrality Statewide by 2045. An older Executive Order (EO), EO S-3-05 (2005), which set a goal of 80 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2050, is also considered in this technical appendix, but is generally considered superseded by the longer-term GHG emissions reduction goal set by EO B-55-18. These Executive Orders currently are only required by law for State Agencies, but future climate legislation and goals are expected by to be passed by the California legislature in the future. This technical appendix details the methodology and results of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories completed for Pleasanton, the forecast of future GHG emissions, and the provisional GHG emissions reduction targets identified for the Pleasanton Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update for the years 2030 (Senate Bill [SB] 32 target year), 2045 (Executive Order [EO] B-55-018 target year), and 2050 (EO S-3-05 target year). This technical appendix also quantifies the reduction impact that State regulations will have on Pleasanton’s business-as-usual forecast2 and presents the results in an adjusted forecast.3 Target setting is an iterative process that must be informed by reductions that can realistically be achieved through development of feasible GHG reduction measures. As such, the targets identified herein (particularly the 2030, 2045, and 2050 targets) remain provisional until quantification and analysis of potential GHG reduction measures has been completed. The City of Pleasanton has completed GHG emissions inventories4 for 2010, 2015, and 2017 and updated the 20055 GHG inventory to measure progress toward the 2020 GHG reduction goals established in the first Pleasanton Climate Action Plan (CAP).6 These inventories use the most recent population, employment, and emission factor data allowing for consistent and comparable methodologies across all inventory years and between Bay Area jurisdictions that are also using the 1 California Air Resources Board. 2020. California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. Accessed: <https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/inventory.htm>. Accessed: April 14, 2020 2 Forecasts emissions based on population and job growth, with no reduction measures from federal, State, or local governments. 3 The adjusted forecast scenario incorporates expected federal, State, and local GHG reduction measures into the emissions forecast to develop a more accurate forecast of emissions through 2045 and 2050. 4 Note that all reference to inventories, forecasts, and targets in this memorandum are in reference to communitywide GHG emissions. 5 The Updated 2005 GHG Emissions Inventory is an update of the previously prepared 2005 inventory that informed the first City CAP. This was done to use the most recent methodology, emission factors, and data sources available, as well as for consistency between other inventory years. The original updated 2005 inventory was created by East Bay Energy Watch, and then updated by Rincon (for more information on these updates, refer to Section 2.3 of the Technical Appendix). 6 City of Pleasanton. 2012. City of Pleasanton Climate Action Plan. Available: <http://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/gov/depts/os/env/cap/resources.asp>. Accessed April 14, 2020.