KANSAS CITY CLIMATE PROTECTION PLANNING PROCESS

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City of Kansas City, Mo
April 2007
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Mayor Barnes signed the U.S. Conference of
Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in
2005 City Council passed Ordinance 060777 in
2006 authorizing the Mayor to undertake a Climate
Protection Planning Process
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KANSAS CITY CLIMATE PROTECTION PLANNING PROCESS

• Develop a baseline inventory
• Establish a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal
• Prepare an action plan to achieve the GHG
  reduction goal

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City Joined ICLEI-Local Governments for
Sustainability

• Access to software to identify local sources of
  GHG emissions develop baseline inventory
• Network with other cities doing climate
  protection plans
• Review other local government plans
  planning processes

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Mayor Barnes appointed a Steering Committee in
September 2006

• Oversee the planning process
• Establish a GHG reduction goal
• Make recommendations for actions to be included
  in the KC plan

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Work Groups were created in November 2006 to
develop suggested action plans in specific areas

• Energy
• Transportation
• Carbon Offsets and Waste Management
• Policy and Outreach

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• Work Group Composition
• Included a broad cross-section of community
• Businesses
• MARC staff
• Environmental Management Commission
• Environmental other Non-profit organizations
• Neighborhoods
• EPA, State of Missouri, Jackson County,
  City staff

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Work Group Activities

• Consider list of possible actions suggest
  additional ideas
• Evaluate GHG reduction estimates for various
  actions
• Make recommendations to Steering Committee
  regarding actions to be included in KC Climate
  Protection Plan

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City Staff Activities

• Develop baseline inventory of GHG emissions
• Identify current City programs, activities,
  policies relevant to GHG reductions
• Identify regional initiatives relevant to GHG
  reductions
• Identify initiatives from KCMO EMC Report
  other City plans, Climate Protection Manual for
  Cities (by Natural
  Capitalism Solutions)

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A Few Current City Activities that Reduce GHG
Emissions

• Energy efficiency improvements in City buildings
  (City Hall, Convention facilities, Fire stations,
  Parks Recreation, Aviation)
• LEED ordinance for City projects
• Alternative fuel use in City Fleet Biodiesel
  CNG
• Million Lights campaign

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A Few Current City Activities (Cont.)

• Water Services Dept. initiatives - Energy
  efficient pumps motors - Methane recovery from
  wastewater treatment - Purchase use of
  CO2
• Replacement of street lights traffic signals
  with energy efficient technology

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GHG Emission Changes 2000-2005

• City governments GHG emissions
  decreased 6.8
• Community-wide, GHG emissions
  increased 4

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Baseline Inventory for GHG Emissions from
Government Operations
Total Emissions 319,795 metric tons of CO2
equivalent
Total Emissions 319,795 metric tons of CO2
equivalent
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Baseline Inventory for Community-Wide GHG
Emissions
2000 Total Emissions 9,569,764 metric tons
of eCO2
Total Energy Emissions (2000) 5,922,457 metric
tons of eCO2
Total Emissions (2000) 9,569,764 metric tons of
eCO2
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Next Steps

• Steering Committee considered Work Group
  recommendations for Phase 1 GHG reduction
  measures (most of which focus on City Government
  activities)
• Steering Committee decided to include all GHG
  reduction measures from Work Groups in Progress
  Report to Mayor City Council

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Next Steps (Cont.)
3. Progress Report on Climate Protection Phase
1 Recommendations provided to Mayor City
Council on April 2 4. Mayor City Council
adopted resolution 070436 on April 12 accepting
recommendations of Climate Protection Steering
Committee
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Steering Committee Recommendations

• Make climate protection/GHG reduction key factor
  in all decisions actions by City
• Reduce GHG emissions from City government
  operations by 30 below 2000 levels by 2020 and
  by end of 2007 develop realistic, ambitious goal
  for community-wide GHG reductions

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Steering Committee Recommendations

• Adopt Phase 1 GHG reduction measures in Progress
  Report, with flexibility to implement in a timely
  workable manner
• Continue planning process with existing Steering
  Committee throughout 2007

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Energy
• Reduce energy use in City government operations
  community-wide
• Explore with City Council energy efficiency
  requirements in City-funded projects
• Explore onsite renewable energy generation
  purchase of green power
• Support new state legislation, policies and
  regulations to reduce GHG emissions e.g., net
  metering

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Transportation
• Expand alternative transportation programs
• Traffic signal synchronization
• Expand use of alternative fuels
  (KC is 3 among largest 50 U.S. cities)
• Enhance bike/pedestrian infrastructure
• Implement light rail as part of healthy public
  transit system

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Waste Management
• Develop comprehensive solid waste
  management plan In process April, 2007
• Increase recycling by City government,
  commercial, residential, and construction/demoli
  tion sectors (American Ice House)

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Carbon Offsets
• Expand urban forestry program
  native landscaping
• Green roofs
• Neighborhood food production
• Funds approved in FY 07-08 City budget could
  support these activities

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Policy Outreach
• Comprehensive, multi-faceted communications
  public engagement plan 1 recommendation from
  all Work Groups

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Phase 1 Recommendations

• Policy Outreach (cont)
• Policy changes to promote
• green building
• green infrastructure (including green solutions
  in Citys Wet Weather Project),
• climate-friendly Development Code (including
  provisions for stream setback buffers, bike-ped
  transit friendly development)
• Building Code (including energy efficiency
  standards),
• regionalization of climate protection

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• Three other recent announcements are particularly
  noteworthy
• KCPL/Sierra Club/Concerned Citizens of
  Platte County agreement to offset 6
  million tons/year of GHG emissions
• Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II appointed to
  House Select Committee on Energy
  Independence and Global Warming

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• April 2nd decision by U.S. Supreme Court
• The harms associated with climate change are
  serious and well recognized
• GHGs are within Clean Air Act definition of air
  pollutants, so EPA has authority to regulate
  GHG emissions from new motor vehicles
• EPA can avoid regulating GHG emissions only if it
  determines GHG do not contribute to climate
  change or if it provides some reasonable
  explanation why it cannot or will not exercise
  its discretion to determine whether they do. If
  the scientific uncertainty is so profound that it
  precludes EPA from making a reasoned judgment, it
  must say so.

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