Adoption of Resolution to Endorse Declaration of a Climate Emergency and Request Regional Collaboration on an Immediate Just Transition and Emergency Mobilization Effort to Restore a Safe Climate. (Public Works 001)
Our next item that was pulled from consent is it's 8:00 and we're still in consent. Who? Hello. This is item five G and this is the adoption of a resolution to endorse declaration of a climate emergency and request regional collaboration on an immediate and an immediate just transition, an emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe climate. So hi there. I'm just going to let it be known that when we come to public speakers, we have a whole bunch. So you're probably getting 2 minutes or less, but just start consolidating your arguments and. Hello, are you presenting this item? Madam Mayor, members of the City Council. My name is Patrick Pellegrino de. I'm the city's climate action coordinator, and I work in the Public Works Department. All right. Nice to see you. Also dressed up. Yeah. So the latest science and recent wildfires have shown us that climate change is real. It's happening now. Closer, friends, we can hear you. And its impacts are likely to be severe. And some commentators have called our current moment a climate crisis. So the resolution, before you responds to that crisis by declaring a climate emergency, this resolution shows Almeida's leadership in climate action and also demonstrates the community's resolve in addressing climate change head on. And while our federal government has shied away from the bold action that is necessary to surmount this challenge, cities and local governments are stepping up to fill the gap. And Alameda is an example. We are stepping up and developing a ambitious climate action resiliency plan, which will put forth strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resiliency to climate change. And that plan should be concluded in the next several months. So with the declaration before you, alameda would join its peer cities, some of which have adopted a similar resolution in addressing climate change with the gravity and urgency that it merits. So with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Are there any and clarifying questions at this time? So we go to our many speakers. Any clarifying questions? Okay. Thank you very much. Yeah, we start our audience. So this is clearly a worthy item and I'm all for it. I am going to ask you to hold your applause. Just virtually applaud. The reason is when we have so many speakers, it just takes more time. It's also a little bit intimidating to some people for whom public speaking is not their favorite thing to do. We have four, five, six, seven, six. Could be your job after this. 11. Sorry, 12. We have 12 speakers. So when we have 12 speakers, we add 2 minutes each unless. You vote by four to lower. In a session. Unless you vote by four of you vote. It is a council. Okay. With 2 minutes. Each? Yes. Okay. All right. So 2 minutes each. I'll try to call several speakers at once. Don't feel like you have to take your whole 2 minutes, but that's just try to keep it moving because we've got a full agenda. But this is, as I said, very important. All right. In this order, we've got Christy Cannon, followed by Joseph Cohen, followed by Lauren Isley. I hope I'm pronouncing your names correctly. Correct me if I didn't. So, Ms.. Cannon, hi. Hi, I'm Christy Canning. Mayor Council Member. Staff I'm very skeptical of declarations which can often end up being pieces of paper that nobody pays any attention to. But I think Patrick stated it well. We have a sense of crisis and emergency. I've spent a lot of time talking to my neighbors and people on the West End in front of Tony's house at the farmer's market. And people are concerned. I would say there's a sense, a strong sense of unease. And to see leadership like this from the council. I think would really be. A strong statement that Alameda will support. Thank you very much. Thank you. Joseph Cohen is next, followed by Lauren Eisley. Hello. Thank you, Madam Mayor, this is. This is Pauline's antiques. Does everybody know Pauline's antiques in Alameda? Used to be. Is there anybody that doesn't know Pauline's antiques in Alameda? Pauline's antiques no longer exists. However, Pauline's property exists in Pauline's property, in my observation, would make a phenomenal Alameda Climate Action Center. Oh. Oh, yeah. And so it's 7000 square feet that can be used for the following purposes. It could be used as for retail products to cover costs. Could be used for education for children. Could be used for environmental groups. And there are many environmental groups fighting for this cause. It could be used for environmental movies. Right around the corner from the Alameda Movie House. It could be used for new technology to sequester CO2, which is possible to pull down from the air and stop our planet from raising that two degrees that we've all heard about. And it could be used for. Your city goals of the the essence of the seas rising and doing great disaster to our island. So I see this center as being something that could be critical for all of us to act within as a context for where action could take place of physical action across from the children store , where the kids go in, they can point and say, Look, mommy, a climate action center like that. So I'm trying. What I'm trying to do is get people stoked up in the 30 seconds that I have left. 22. So you're doing that. So I didn't know what I was going to say. I still don't know what I'm going to say, but I said it anyway. This is something that's really required, I think. And this could be and this could be a prototype for Climate Action Centers anywhere else and all other places within our world. Thank you so much. Our next two speakers are Lauren Isley, followed by Amos White. Hello. Good evening, Mayor Ashcroft. Council members and staff are Laura and I, Zell, for the record. And I was I wanted to get up here in particular and to say that I really applaud all of you for your vision and your leadership and your compassion for all of the members of your community here in considering this emergency declaration. I've been working in the Climate Resiliency Field for over 15 years now in the Bay Area, and I'm so glad to see Alameda coming to the table and also for seeing Alameda coming into the regional conversation about resilience. And that being said, I just want to be sure to encourage you to really consider the ethos and the the the vision behind this declaration when you're looking at approving or considering development projects in the future, and in particular, how those development projects impact our infrastructure, our transportation systems, our emergency services, and the vulnerabilities of particular developments relative to sea level rise, which is our biggest concern. In addition, I encourage you in the future, as you're looking at the different versions of the Climate Adaptation and Action Plan, to really scrutinize that plan for its comprehensiveness, for its effectiveness, and for its ability to be implemented and funded. Because the eye can see that your determination and your consideration is here. But words in a paper only mean so much unless they can actually be act upon with actions and policies and procedures and plans. So thank you very much for your support and your leadership. Thank you. And we have Amos White, followed by Kathy. Dana, followed by Carolyn. Carolyn Choi, Mr. White. Good evening, Mayor Ashcraft and Council. Thank you. My name's David. So I'm a resident of Alameda and steering committee member with CASA, A Community Action for Sustainable Alameda. I speak on behalf of Costa's Climate Emergency Subcommittee, which worked with Councilmembers Knox White or Vice Mayor Knox White and Councilmember Brody to put this resolution before you. And we're really excited to have this before the city of Alameda. As an island city, we applaud your leadership to put forth this resolution. Alameda is climate emergency declaration. It comes at a time when we most need to focus our positive energies and policies on local climate solutions. And from the from the audience tonight, if everybody can stand up, I know you're not speaking tonight. Anybody here on the issue of climate emergency declaration, please stand up and represent alameda. Ty students. Thank you. Those wearing green. I do want to recognize them and thank you all for your support on behalf of CASA. As I said, we gather here tonight to urge you to pass this resolution that will declare a climate emergency and launch a citywide push to end greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The resolution follows an alarming warning from scientists who say that the world must rapidly transform its economy in order to avoid even worse consequences from climate change. Incidents of extreme heat damage, damaging storms, floods, smoke emergencies that we've all experienced. These are just some of the facts and things that we really hope that this emergency can put us all on a footing to begin to address and have a further conversation. So we ask your support on this resolution tonight and we're watching with enthusiasm and really encourage you to vote yes on the resolution. Thank you. And for the earth. Thank you. Kathy Dana, followed by Carolyn Chow. Is Dana, are you here? Okay, we put her slip at the bottom. I'm Caroline Choi. Choi Troy. Right. Sorry. And Caroline. Troy is followed by Zoe Moore. Followed by Jessica Robinson. Um, I'll make this quick. My name is Caroline Troy, and I'm a junior at Almeida High School, and I've been a part of Casa, and I run an environmental club. I was really distraught to hear that by the year 2050, before I or my peers even turned 50 years old, El Nino will experience so much sea level rise. That Bay Farm Island where I currently live will be nearly underwater. The small window of time that we were given by climate scientists to reverse that sea level rise is closing on us very quickly. According to the IPCC, we are less than 12 years away from being unable to reverse our mistakes. But Almeida is proposing to do something the climate emergency resolution. And I believe that is really powerful. I believe that the climate emergency declaration is a perfect response to the climate crisis that threatens all of us because we should be panicking over the state of the earth right now. And so I want to inform City Council that I'm excited that we're looking at passing our city's climate emergency declaration. And I speak for the high schoolers of Alameda when I say that, I'm excited that our city council is making steps, however small they may be, towards protecting my and my generation's future. So thank you on behalf of the students and the planet. Thank you very much. I remember about applause. Just virtual. Don't Dems don't do it for real. Okay. Zoe Moore, are you here? There's Zoe and Jessica Robinson. I see you said be ready to come up and you will be followed by Isabella McCracken. Hello. Hi. You can raise the mic, Kenny. Yeah. My name is Zoe Moore and I'm also a junior at Alameda High. I'll also make this quick. I support the state of climate emergency declaration declaration. Climate change is very real and potentially more harmful in Alameda as we are an island. Projections have shown parts of Alameda to be under water very soon, very sooner than I had expected. And this shocking information is frightening to many students at our school. Our community needs our city government to take action to deal with this scary reality. And as an island city, rising sea levels are an issue very close to home. I'm excited to see policy implemented, to try to make Alameda as sustainable as possible, as a step in the right direction. And I hope that we will lead other cities to do the same. Thank you. Thank you. And Jessica Robinson, followed by Isabella McCracken, followed by. K. Yang Lee. Or maybe nice. Something like that. Hello. Hello. Good evening, Mayor Ashcraft and City City Council members. My name is just. Robinson, also known as Miss Alameda Recycle Woman and now Resilience and I have dedicated ten years of my life as a community action for Sustainable Alameda Volunteer CASA helping the city of Alameda and the community move toward zero waste and sustainability with the intention to help address climate change. I have held a vision for many years that Alameda will lead as a as an example in ways of innovative, sustainable, innovative innovation, addressing climate change through our programs and community engagement. My vision is we will continue to lead as a collective, working with grass roots efforts and collaboration and full. Support from. Our local government to show the rest of California. And the nation what a special island Alameda is and what we can do when the will is there. To be resilient as we draw down our carbon footprint. I do believe we can stand among leaders in addressing climate change, and I'm proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of this community and to make this vision a reality. Thank you for your time and your service. Thank you. Isabelle McCracken, are you here? She is. And. Kay Lee is after that. Hello. My name is Isabella and I'm a junior at Almeida High School, and I support the climate emergency declaration. We can't change the poor decisions made decades ago without regard for the impact on the planet. No one can. What we all can do. Though, is everything possible to correct those mistakes. It is owed to the future generations that we leave them with a thriving planet. So if we are going to live in a society that does not harm the environment. We are going to. Have to make some massive systemic changes. We will have to invest money and time into. Renewable energy and reducing our energy dependency. But we, the students here today, we are the ones whose everyday lives will be affected by this. But if we don't make these changes within our lifetime. A significant. Amount of Alameda will be underwater. So me and all the students here today are proof that our generation, the leaders of tomorrow, the ones whose lives will be affected the most by these decisions, want this declaration to be enacted. Now, all we need is confirmation by our city that they will. Support the needs of the. Future generations and see climate change not as something that will one day affect us, but as something that is already impacting our everyday lives. This is an important investment for the future of Alameda because I am confident that it will be more cost effective for us to move towards a city with zero emissions now than to deal with the consequences of the entirety of Bay from Island being underwater within decades. The students here today and all over Alameda are the ones who will be reaping the consequences of your actions. And we are telling you right now what. Actions we want to see done not only for our future, but the future of Alameda. Thank you. Thank you. So don't be shy about moving up toward the front when you hear your name called. Just keep things moving along. Hello. By the way, high school students, I'm a little biased because they went down me too high. But I know a lot of HS students too. You're really good speakers, so. Yes. Hello. Hi. So my name is Chi Hoang and I'm a student at Alameda High. It's okay. First of all, I want to thank you all for working to help Alameda move towards a sustainable and zero waste environment and in favor of the climate emergency resolution. I thought I would suggest some solutions to help Alameda to become an environmentally friendly community. I am so encouraged to see Alameda starting to implement waste bins with all recycling landfill and compost bins. Although it might seem like a minor issue, it is crucial that we start to implement trash cans on the streets and in schools that have all the following recycling, landfill and compost bins. Sorting trash correctly is a first that we can take to help reduce landfill up, which can help slowly reduce greenhouse emissions. To get more specific, if the climate emergency declaration passes, a smart way we can utilize the federal funding is to subsidize businesses, more specifically restaurants with biodegradable to-go boxes, since most of this waste comes from restaurants uses of plastic. Hopefully these are some ways that we can help, you know, to become an environmentally active community. Thank you so much. Thank you. Charles Addams, followed by well, Cathy, Dana is my last speaker, but I think she may not be here. So Charles Addams. Thank you. Students have filled this room before and alamy. The government has passed environmental resolutions before. The actions taken over the last decade have not been in line with any of the rhetoric. Alameda Municipal Power is known throughout California as a leader in fighting against rooftop solar. Rooftop solar provides a consumer with the cheapest power per kilowatt hour available and provides the greatest environmental benefit because it doesn't destroy undeveloped land, doesn't require new transmission in an age of increased wildfire, threat like even wind farms do, and is the only clean technology that creates on island jobs. Now, while carbon tax is needed, federally, net metering is a local method of counting for the environment and economics. PGE continues to credit rooftop solar at retail. The surrounding counties. Marin San Francisco Sonoma take bold steps to credit customers above retail and credit. Tell Americans that just 27% of the top rate and is spreading misinformation. Campaign Against Solar Technology. Most homes in Alameda could produce 100% of their annual kilowatt hours through rooftop solar. A policy would be to reinstate aggressive net metering. Additionally, formula change developments at Alameda Landing and the upcoming Alameda waterfront are antithetical to environmental protection. These formula developments notoriously contribute to a plastic throwaway culture destroy small businesses, destroy community self-reliance. But they provide business models designed to maximize traffic. This there is no bike path or token small business that you're going to put next to these malls that are going to alleviate this business model. You have to know these guys. Their model is Emeryville. The same people. Passed anti-Chinese door legislation. San Francisco, Berkeley have done this. Tax single use plastics. These are real policies. And reversing the mistakes seems to require different policies than I've ever heard considered in in this council. Thank you. Thank you. That's my last public speaker. So we're going to close our public comment. And we have a resolution to endorse declaration of a climate emergency. Vice Mayor Knox White. Thank you very much for speaking. I just want to recognize the youth leadership that that showed up tonight. I'm constantly tonight it was Alameda High last weekend. It was sorry. Can we turn this up just a little bit? It's up at the max. Okay. Sorry. Usually pretty really close yet anyway. Last year. Last week, it wasn't at all high. You guys all continue to not only represent, but represent your generation exceedingly well. And I'm really impressed. And I just want to thank you for coming. It's very moving to have you here and very meaningful. I want to thank Councilmember Odie, who joined me in helping to work with Costa to bring this resolution forward. I also want to thank very much our staff at the Public Works Department, Liam, Patrick and Aaron, who worked very closely with us to make sure that what we brought forward actually worked with within the 18 months of climate action planning that the city has already been undertaking and will be coming forward later this year. You know, I have mentioned this before. This is really the first time that the council is actually providing any input on that climate action plan and our goals. And I think that in in the hopes that we do pass this tonight, I wanted to highlight that the most meaningful thing here for me is we need to move as quickly as possible to zero net emissions no later than 2030. This is the council's declaration that this is an emergency and we are setting for the city our goal of net greenhouse gas emissions at 2030. Some of that might come from the state, from state changes, etc.. And we're going to, you know, as we go through this process, we're going to identify what we think that is so that we can identify at some point in time how we're going to get to that. But it's my hope that we will pass this with that language and that expectation. I also want to understand that the expectation, the Climate Action Plan, may come out with us with a different goal, but we that is not the beginning. All right. Sorry. It's not the end. It is the beginning. Once we once we pass that plan, which I have heard a little bit about and I'm very excited about, and I think our staff has really done, from what I've heard, a crack job getting to where they are. We will then start the conversation about, okay, what next? Climate for Alameda is an existential crisis. We are the only island city in the bay. Sea level rise puts it puts all of our existence at risk. And, you know, we should be climate leaders. It has taken a number of speakers and it's taken us a number of years to get to here. When I was campaigning last fall, I talked a lot about how 44 or so years ago when we got a new public works director, the city's official position was this is a regional issue. Sea level rise is a regional issue. The state will save us. We don't do anything. So through leadership. I wanted to recognize that as well. I really want to also just quickly recognize Damian, Herb, Ruth, Amos, Sylvia and David Teeters and many others who met with me and talked with Jim about it. To really put this together, to really come together. I think our goal and it seems that we're reaching it tonight if we pass this is for the community, our staff and our elected officials ought to be on the same page in saying that, hey, Alameda is taking this seriously. We're going to be on the same page. We're all here to to show up and work towards it. And my hope would be four years from now, Mr. Adams will show up and say, you know what, I've heard a lot of words in the past, but you guys really actually started putting the pedal to the metal and making some change. Lastly, I'm going to just wanted to reflect a quick comment. Ms.. Cannon, our first speaker, talked about words versus actions. And I think one of the places that this this resolution does something different than the other ones does is it starts to require that all staff reports that come forward from this day forth need to identify what the climate impact of the staff recommendation is. Right. So we're not. So we need to start thinking about that in every single recommendation that we have. Back to Mr. Adams point. You know, it's going to be a little bit of a learning, right? It's always easy to shoehorn things into a climate and make the case and whatever else in our community and our electeds and our staff will work really hard to keep each other honest on that as we go forward. So anyway, I just wanted to thank you, thank you for the speakers. I will look forward to asking my colleagues to join us in voting for this. Thank you. Thank you. Who's next? I'm going to. Councilman Brody. So I'll be brief because the vice mayor said a lot what I had to say, not to mention what the the speakers, Mr. White in the audience had to say, as well as the students. So I appreciate the opportunity to work with you. You're really easy to work with. So thank you for that. I just think this is something we need to do. Some people might say, Well, why do you declare an emergency? Well, for exactly the same reasons why the vice mayor mentioned so. Our staff, our city identifies that this is one of the overarching goals that we will consider every time something is brought to the to this body and that it's kept in the forefront of our community. Because I don't have to really go into the the why? Because I think everyone gets it right. You know, we wait around and we say, well, the federal government will take care of us. Well, okay, they don't even believe this exists. The state the state is working. But, you know, they they take a while to get things done. So we have to do this on our own. And I think one of the students, speaker, said, I mean, they feel we can be a leader in other cities will follow and we don't have the luxury of waiting, you know, like another city, say, a Stockton or Pleasanton or Dublin may have, because we are here on the front lines of sea level rise and we will be impacted. Well, I think we're being impacted now, but we will see significant impacts before anyone else does. So I think it's super critical that we set these goals because if we don't have something to shoot for, we don't have a goal, then we're not going to get anything done. So in you know, in one sense, there's a bit of a dread because it's happening. But in the one sense, I'm really excited that we're actually being being one of the first communities to be out there and make this bold statement and make this declaration and tell everyone, this is an emergency. It's an emergency for us. And not only are we going to say it's an emergency, but we're going to start doing something about it. So and I think we owe it. I mean, my generation, our generation, I think we owe it to the students that came up and spoke to make sure that we leave them an element of that they can live with. And whether it's being able to find affordable housing, whether it's being able to have an education. I think it's also critical to make sure that we actually give them a physical Alameda that's still here. So I'm glad that we're doing this and I think CASA for all their their work. I got the memo. I wore the green and the blue. So I did get that memo. And I hope that my colleagues and I have a lot of faith in them because I know that they value our environment and value protecting Alameda. So I hope that they can support this as well. Thank you. Mr. de Councilmember de SAG. I just want to briefly say that, you know, for many people, year 2050, everyone is looking at it with great trepidation. But the thing to think about is that, you know, 2050 when the water supposed to rise at some level that. You know, it's very difficult would be very difficult for Alameda. 2050 is 31 years from now. 31 years ago for me was all for everyone. It was 1988. And as I look back 31 years ago, I kind of feel like it happened at a snap of a finger. So what that tells me is even though 2050 seems like a big number 31 years away, you know, I'm still going to be alive this year. And it's going to happen when like with a snap of a finger. So I think it is right and fitting that we declare this climate action emergency. Thank you, Councilmember Vela. So I look forward to supporting this. But I also think that we have a lot of regulations and ordinances on the books. And while I appreciate that we're going to be identifying the impacts on staff reports moving forward, I think we have a lot of work to do looking at ordinances that are on the books that I think absolutely contradict what we're saying we need to do here. And I think that part of that is, you know, yes, we should be looking forward, but we also need to look at what we're currently doing and implementing because some of the stuff that we have isn't actually helping people in in an affordable manner do the upgrades that they need to do and things like that. And I think we can start with our permitting office and our design review process where we're we seemingly value kind of the process and weigh it down looking at these things as opposed to helping people reduce emissions by reducing consumption. And so I think that's something we can do as a city and we should be doing. And I think, you know, we should start at city hall and I think we'll see a lot of that in our climate action plan. And I think that there's been a very robust conversation from the community, from staff, from council in terms of how we go about doing that. So I think that this is a nice way to introduce the Climate Action Plan that's going to be coming forward and to keep us on track. So thank you. Thank you. And before I call for a motion, I just want to comment a couple of things. All the high school students who spoke. Wow. Just wow. You are not only are you good speakers, but the content of what you said. I mean, adults in the room. Were you where they were when you were high school juniors? I certainly wasn't. But it gives me such hope that you get it. You get what we have to do. We've got to sort our trash. We have to consume less. We have to use products that aren't harming the earth. And so I guess, I don't know, did you learn it in preschool or something? But you're growing up with that and these are our future leaders. Just last Friday was honored to be invited to speak to the students. They did the climate strike. Actually, students around the world walked out and I addressed the group at Crown Cove. That march was organized by a couple of and canal freshman. And I, I know I was in that together as a freshman, but it really it gives me hope. It should give all of you hope. And I also want to thank our concert group in Alameda. I see a lot of you here in the audience. And I say all the time, you you really are kind of the sheepdogs nipping at our heels and getting us to go in the right direction. I went to Davos. I know how sheepdogs work and that, and I know I see with Abby. And I see I'm going. Blank here and. I call on you when I when I need an input or I'm considering something. Well, what should I do? What do you think? And and you always lead me in the right direction. So a Debbie Ryan, that's what I went blank on for a minute there. So anyway, thank you for bringing this resolution forward. Nice staff report, Patrick. And with that, I'm looking for a motion. Who's going to race to be first? Ackerman. Oh, of. Approval. Right. Don't be shy. We have a motion by Councilmember Odie, a second by vice mayor. Mayor? They're not quite all in favor. I the motion passes you. May I? But. No, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we let's. Let's play by the rules. Yeah, that works. That works. But we got to keep things moving because people it's core to date and we're just finishing consensus. Yeah. Quality nine. Yes we spring forward. Okay. If everyone could leave as quietly as possible. Oh, I see some of my hands now. STUDENTS Hello. We are going to move right into the next in this. Do we need a plan? No. Okay. We are going to move right into the regular agenda. So we have I'm first step item six A and six a is the adoption of a resolution adopting, appointing or not going to adopt him appointing Vadim down the cove as