1162872 - Developing Communitywide Greenhouse Gas Targets: Best Management Practices from Sacramento County

Greenhouse gas (GHG) target-setting is a key first step toward achieving emissions reductions. Targets can be tailored to work at all scales, from individual projects and companies to states, nations, and entire industries. California has set long-term statewide targets consistent with the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines to prevent global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius, with interim legally mandated targets through 2030 to put the state on the right trajectory. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review process, proposed projects must identify significant environmental impacts, including impacts from GHG emissions, and to avoid or mitigate those impacts if feasible. There is a need for substantiated GHG thresholds that are consistent with achieving the portion of the State’s targeted GHG emissions reductions specific to the locations and sectors of emissions from each proposed project.

This presentation will describe the methods used to develop thresholds for residential and commercial projects under the Sacramento Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), one of 35 regional air quality districts in California responsible for local air quality planning, monitoring, and stationary source and facility permitting. The policy goal of these thresholds is to allow project proponents clear, easy to comply with thresholds that encourage developers to put best GHG management practices in place regardless of the size of the project. This presentation discusses how these thresholds were developed to be consistent with California’s 2030 and ultimately 2050 goals, and to allow for easy evaluation and provide certainty to developers. Similar methods could be applied to other jurisdictions and regions.