Berkeley Fights Global Warming

Berkeley Takes a Leadership Role with Measure G

When Berkeley voters approved Measure G by 81% last November, they set a formidable goal of reducing local greenhouse emissions by 80% by the year 2050. Since then, the city has been working on a plan to achieve that ultimate goal and the many necessary steps along the way.

The city first adopted a greenhouse gas plan nearly ten years ago to reduce electricity use and natural gas emissions. "The plan was based on what we knew at the time," explained Cisco DeVries, chief of staff for Mayor Tom Bates. "Now we have much more aggressive goals. Eighty percent — what climate scientists are saying we need to do — is the new standard."

Community-Based Effort
As part of Measure G, Berkeley is creating a 10-year goal and a plan to meet it. The proposed plan will be developed through a community-based process, said Timothy Burroughs, the city's climate action coordinator. This includes community and citizen-commission meetings and workshops, where community members can brainstorm ideas, provide feedback and make recommendations. The resulting plan will be presented to the mayor and city council for approval by the end of the year.

A Range of Options
Burroughs said a number of different areas will be considered, such as land use, transportation, commercial and residential energy use and waste management. He plans to expand outreach to Berkeley's "Big 100" — the 100 largest businesses in the city — to help them develop cost-effective ways for reducing their energy use. In addition, the city may expand its car-share program.

Another idea is a local carbon offset program, which would allow residents to calculate the emissions they generate from their personal energy consumption, then make a corresponding donation to local energy reduction programs to offset this amount. Residents would calculate their "carbon footprints" based on their airplane travel, utility bills, cars and driving patterns, DeVries explained.

Along these lines, a team of graduate students from UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy is providing recommendations for how such a program would work. This includes how to administer the program, how emissions would be calculated and what the donations would fund, such as local energy-efficiency programs or additional solar panels for local schools.

Partnering with Cal
Concurrently, the university is undergoing a similar process to reduce its local greenhouse gas emissions. "We hope to coordinate and leverage resources," DeVries said. "Cal is an incredible wealth of knowledge and expertise in everything from energy efficiency to transportation to taxation and economics issues."

At Mayor Tom Bates' request, several university energy luminaries have agreed to serve as his advisers, including Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dan Kammen, director of Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, and Art Rosenfeld, professor emeritus of physics and a California energy commissioner who is considered the "father of energy efficiency."

Ultimately, it will be the combined expertise and ideas, gleaned from the university and from the community, that will help create an innovative yet realistic plan for achieving Measure G's ambitious goals.

"The cumulative effect of the work we are doing in Berkeley — which includes the pioneering research at UC Berkeley and Law-rence Berkeley National Laboratory as well as the city's sustainability plans — position us as a leader in combating climate change," said Mayor Bates.