Linda Tran Executive Summary

 Comparative Practices for
Updating Greenhouse Gas
Inventories in Alameda County
By Linda Tran
For the City of Hayward and
Mills College Graduate Program
in Public Policy
April 2012
Executive Summary
In June 2006, the City of Hayward, along with ten other local governments
in Alameda County, joined the Alameda County Climate Protection
Project (ACCPP). By joining the ACCPP, the City of Hayward committed to
an ongoing coordinated effort with the Alameda County Waste
Management Authority and Recycling Board (StopWaste), the Alameda
County Conference of Mayors, and ICLEI-Local Governments for
Sustainability (ICLEI) to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG).
In committing to the ACCPP, the committed Alameda County cities
embarked on an ongoing, coordinated effort to reduce the emissions that
cause global warming, improve air quality, reduce waste, cut energy use,
and save money. As part of the ACCPP, the committed Alameda County
cities had to conduct a baseline GHG emissions inventory to obtain an
estimated appraisal of emissions for a given year. GHG inventories are not
only conducted to establish a baseline for tracking emission trends, but
also to help local governments identify the greatest sources of GHG
emission, understand emission trends, quantify benefits of activities that
reduce emission, establish a basis for developing local action plan, track
progress in reducing emissions, and set goals and targets for the future
(U.S. EPA, 2012). However, there is no established uniform protocol for
ACCPP members to follow to inventory GHG emissions. As it is currently structured, inventories cannot be easily communicated
between local and national governments and the private sector. This may
lead to inconsistent methods, making it difficult to draw comparisons
between cities and across time. Establishing a uniform protocol for GHG
inventories for ACCPP members ensures consistency and quality of
inventories, allows for accurate monitoring of progress against emissions
targets, enables credible reporting of climate data in a transparent and
verifiable way, and enables the City of Hayward and other Alameda
County cities to address the challenge of climate change more
effectively and consistently.
A closer look at the methods utilized by select Alameda County cities will
provide local insight into the different GHG inventory processes and help
determine which process is most suitable for Alameda County. This report
examines five different Alameda County cities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
City of Albany
City of Berkeley
City of Fremont
City of Hayward
City of Oakland
In order to examine the different methods employed when conducting
GHG inventories, this report identifies the types of GHG inventory utilized
by each city, the emission sectors included, and the data sources from
which the city computed information. Three main evaluative criteria are
to measure the success of each method: consistency, efficiency, and
environmental change. In this report, consistency and efficiency are
ranked the same because the method must be consistent and feasible
within the municipal government’s city staff scope of time, budget, and
training. Environmental change is also included because inventories are
conducted to act as a guide for local governments to reduce their overall
GHG emission output.
This report recommends the City of Hayward and Alameda County cities
adopt some of the methods utilized by the City of Oakland. While the City
of Oakland produces a traditional production-based inventory, city staff
also gathers data beyond the scope required for a production-based
inventory. In effect, the City of Oakland produces two different
perspectives with their data collection: reported results for their inventory
that are within the scope of the local government and a look at all
emissions consumed by the community and municipal government. This
data will be useful as more tools and resources become available to
provide a more consistent and reliable tool for local governments to
become more accountable for their GHG emissions.
Recommended next steps for the City of Hayward include:
Short Term Recommendations
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Continue with the production-based inventory
Continue making separate calculations for municipal and
community data
Maintain consistency with the inventory by creating a written
manual or guide of the data collection process, data sources
utilized, and data calculations
Meet with regional cities at least annually to discuss methods for
data collection, data sources, and data calculations. Approach
the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) as a possible
facilitator of such a regional collaboration
Become familiar with the City of Oakland’s Climate Action Plan
Long Term Recommendations
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Evaluate the method utilized to conduct the baseline and compare
with the method utilized for the inventory update. Identify any
variances with data collection, data sources, and data calculations
Continue to meet with regional cities and consider working towards
a collaborative inventory methodology
Review the plausibility of collecting data on "upstream emissions" for
future inventories
Monitor ICLEI’s efforts to develop a standardized method for local
governments (for example: the Global Protocol for CommunityScale Greenhouse Gas Emissions)
These next steps should be implemented in order for the City of Hayward
to conduct a GHG inventory that is consistent, efficient, and ultimately,
meet the City of Hayward’s goals of reducing GHG emissions.