![]() ![]() With transportation accounting for an estimated 61.9% of its emissions, Palo Alto would have to get people to drive less and to encourage those who do to go electric. In nonresidential buildings, the city would need to electrify heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) units as well as cooking equipment and gas appliances. According to the document, Palo Alto would need to effectively eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions from single-family appliances for water heating, space heating, cooking and clothes drying. The council also voted unanimously to approve the goals and key actions of the city's new Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, a document that will serve as a road map to carbon neutrality. Later this month, the council plans to update the city's building code and raise the requirements for electric-vehicle charging equipment in new commercial and multifamily developments. ![]() The program aims to have 1,000 residents replace their gas-powered water heaters with heat pump heaters by the end of 2023 by providing subsidies, on-bill financing and contracting services. On Monday, the council voted 6-1, with Greg Tanaka dissenting, to approve one of its most significant sustainability programs to date. Now, the city is preparing to put these plans into action and speed up its transition to green energy. Even as council members, staff from Public Works and Utilities departments and a growing contingent of community volunteers have spent the past 15 months crafting plans to cut emissions, actual progress on achieving these cuts has been glacial. So far, Palo Alto has reduced its emissions by about 50.6%, thanks in large part to its switch in 2013 to a fully carbon-free electricity portfolio.īut if you discount the impacts of the pandemic, which resulted in fewer drivers commuting to the city, the decrease in emissions is only about 42%, according to staff projections. The new target, which the council approved by a unanimous vote, builds on the city's existing goal of cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, with 1990 as the baseline. Seeking to make the city a model in the global battle against climate change, the Palo Alto City Council adopted on Monday night an ambitious goal of making the city carbon neutral by 2030. Embarcadero Media file photo by Veronica Weber. Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, and Chevy Volt automobiles charge at the electric vehicle charging stations installed at the Foothill Research Center office complex in Palo Alto.
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