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City of Pleasanton—Hidden Canyon Residences and Preserve Draft EIR Greenhouse Gas Emissions FirstCarbon Solutions 3.7-3 https://adecinnovations.sharepoint.com/sites/PublicationsSite/Shared Documents/Publications/Client (PN-JN)/2148/21480016/EIR/3 - Draft EIR/21480016 Sec03-07 GHG.docx California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Emissions of GHGs contributing to global climate change are attributable in large part to human activities associated with the transportation, industrial/manufacturing, utility, residential, commercial, and agricultural sectors. Emissions of CO2 are byproducts of fossil fuel combustion. Methane, a highly potent GHG, results from off-gassing (the release of chemicals from nonmetallic substances under ambient or greater pressure conditions) is largely associated with agricultural practices and landfills. N2O is also largely attributable to agricultural practices and soil management. CO2 sinks, or reservoirs, include vegetation and the ocean, which absorb CO2 through sequestration and dissolution, respectively. As the second largest emitter of GHG emissions in the United States, California contributes a large quantity (381.3 million metric tons [MMT] carbon dioxide equivalent [CO2e] in 2021) of GHG emissions to the atmosphere.5 Anthropogenic CO2 are largely byproducts of fossil fuel combustion and are attributable to transportation, industry/ manufacturing, electricity generation, natural gas consumption, and agriculture processes. Statewide Climate Impacts Even if GHG emissions could be reduced to zero overnight, global temperatures will continue to rise in future years due to the build-up of GHGs that have already accumulated in the atmosphere and the oceans. As future emissions increase the atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other GHGs, the impacts of the warming greenhouse effect are projected to steadily worsen. These impacts—including substantially higher temperatures, more extreme weather, increased wildfire events and sea level rise–are already being experienced in California today. As reported by the California Natural Resources Agency in 2009, despite annual variations in weather patterns, California has seen a trend of increased average temperatures, more extreme hot days, fewer cold nights, longer growing seasons, less winter snow, and earlier snowmelt and rainwater runoff. Statewide average temperatures increased by about 1.7°F from 1895 to 2011, and a larger proportion of total precipitation is falling as rain instead of snow. Sea level rose by as much as 7 inches along the California coast over the last century, leading to increased erosion and adding pressure to the State’s infrastructure, water supplies, and natural resources. Within the past decade, California has experienced some of the most extreme climate events in its recorded history—a severe 4-year drought, a dramatic reduction in Sierra Nevada winter snowpack, five of the State’s 20 largest forest fires since 1932, and 2 years back-to-back of the hottest recorded average temperatures. Local and Regional Climate Impacts The San Francisco Bay Area has experienced similar trends as California. Averaged across the region, mean annual temperature has increased nearly 1°F in the last 30 years over the previous 30-year period. 5 California Air Resources Board (ARB). 2021. Current California GHG Emission Inventory Data. Website: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg- inventory-data. Accessed March 6, 2025.