RES 221270 - Laserfiche WebLink

City of Pleasanton Pleasanton Climate Action Plan 2.0 52 8 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Potentially Significant Impact Less than Significant with Mitigation Incorporated Less than Significant Impact No Impact Would the project: a. Generate greenhouse gas emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment? □ □ ■ □ b. Conflict with any applicable plan, policy, or regulation adopted to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases? □ □ □ ■ a. Would the project generate GHG emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment? The greenhouse effect is a natural occurrence that helps regulate the temperature of the Earth. The majority of radiation from the sun hits Earth’s surface and warms it. The surface in turn radiates heat back towards the atmosphere, known as infrared radiation. Gases and clouds in the atmosphere trap and prevent some of this heat from escaping into space and re-radiate it in all directions. This process is essential to support life on Earth, because it warms the planet by approximately 60°F. Emissions from human activities since the beginning of the industrial revolution (approximately 270 years ago) have been adding to the natural greenhouse effect by resulting in increased gases in the atmosphere that trap heat and contribute to an average increase in Earth’s temperature. Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface, and climate change is the resultant change in wind patterns, precipitation, and storms over an extended period. GHGs produced by human activities include CO2, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydroflourocarcons, perfluorinated compound, and sulfur hexafluoride (see Appendix B for more details related to these GHG gases).63 Combustion of fossil fuels (gasoline, natural gas, and coal), deforestation, and decomposition of waste release carbon into the atmosphere that had been locked underground and stored in oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon deposits or in the biomass of surface vegetation. Since 1750, estimated concentrations of CO2, CH4, and N2O in the atmosphere have increased by over 36 percent, 148 percent, and 18 percent respectively, primarily due to human activity. Emissions of GHGs affect the atmosphere directly by changing its chemical composition. Changes to the land surface also indirectly affect the atmosphere by changing the way in which Earth absorbs gases from the atmosphere. Potential impacts in California due to climate change include sea level rise, more extreme-heat days and high-ozone days, larger and more frequent 63 The CAP 2.0 only considers emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O, because these are the GHGs most relevant to local government policymaking. These gases comprise a large majority of GHG emissions at the community level. The remaining gases are emitted primarily in private sector manufacturing and electricity transmission and are the subject of regulation at the State level. Therefore, these gases were omitted from the CAP 2.0.