County Steps Up Commitment to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Under the leadership of Supervisor Dave Cortese, Santa Clara County stepped up its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today by pledging to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity for its operations by the end of 2019 and to become carbon neutral by 2045.

The resolution was unanimously approved on Tuesday, December 18, by the Board of Supervisors. It consolidates the County’s climate control commitments and sets consistent measurement standards that will allow the County to track progress.

“These targets and baseline will help in the creation of the Countywide Sustainability Master Plan, “ Supervisor Cortese said. “And the resolution will ensure that our work will continue under the guidance of future Boards and staff members.”

Supervisor Cortese’s Office worked with the Director of the Office of Sustainability, Susan Gilbert Miller, and County Counsel in developing this resolution, which:

• Recaps the county’s previous climate-related goals

• Includes the county’s existing pledge to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity for its by December 31, 2019
• Establishes a 100 percent carbon neutrality commitment for County Operations by 2045
• Establishes GHG emission baselines for 2005
• Establishes GHG emission reduction targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050
• Directs Administration to complete annual GHG inventories and set interim annual reduction targets and by 2020 complete a carbon storage inventory to set a baseline and interim targets for achieving carbon neutrality by 2045

The County of Santa Clara is an established leader in the area of climate action, having been at the forefront of issues such as energy efficiency and savings, renewable power, green building, zero waste, agricultural preservation, integrated pest management, and tree preservation.

Through these targeted strategies, the Office of Sustainability calculates that by 2015 the county had reduced GHG emissions from its own operations by 24.6 percent since 2005. That figure changes to 15.3 percent when factoring in emissions generated by County employees’ commute.

In 2017, Supervisor Cortese led the renewal of the county’s climate commitment, in particular to the Paris Climate Accord, and paved the way for other counties to join the efforts, by creating the County Climate Coalition. Most recently, Supervisor Cortese’s and the Coalition’s efforts were supported by former Vice President Al Gore during the Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit in September 2018.

For more information, please contact the Office of Supervisor Dave Cortese at 408-299-5030 or the Office of Sustainability at 408-993-4760.