HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2022-055 DocuSign Envelope ID:921AAOE4-4F8D-491E-9476-78F394D14B83
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-055
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 sufficient 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" 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
DocuSign Envelope ID:921AAOE4-4F8D-491E-9476-78F394D14B83
Resolution No. 2022-055
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WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista is one of more than 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 color 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 result 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, participation, 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.
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Resolution No. 2022-055
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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 actions 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 Vista 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.
S. 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 direct 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.
DocuSign Envelope ID:921AAOE4-4F8D-491E-9476-78F394D14B83
Resolution No. 2022-055
Page No. 4
Presented by Approved as to form by
EEDocuSigned by: DocuSigned by:
2FC559998BD74C4_. CF40650850444BF...
Eric C. Crockett Glen R. Googins
Deputy City Manager/Director of Economic City Attorney
Development
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista,
California, this 1 st day of March 2022 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers: Cardenas, Galvez, McCann, and Casillas Salas
NAYS: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: Padilla
E//D®®ocuS�ignefd by: P�,
062BFD7C0386456...
Mary Casillas Salas, Mayor
ATTEST:
DocuSigned by:
42E
Kerry K. Bigelow, MMC, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO )
CITY OF CHULA VISTA )
I, Kerry K. Bigelow, City Clerk of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution No. 2022-055 was duly passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council at a regular
meeting of the Chula Vista City Council held on the 1 st day of March 2022.
Executed this 1 st day of March 2022.
EDocuSigned by:
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Kerry K. Bigelow, MMC, City Clerk