DEPARTMENT: Office of Sustainability
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Douglas R. Melnick, AICP, ISSP-SA, CNU-A
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT:
Interagency Participation Agreement with CPS Energy and the University of Texas at San Antonio
SUMMARY:
Consideration of an Ordinance authorizing an Interagency Participation Agreement with CPS Energy and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in coordination with the City of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, through funding in an amount up to $500,000.00 allocated within a collaboration agreement between CPS Energy and UTSA.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On September 22, 2010, CPS Energy and UTSA entered into a Collaboration Agreement for CPS Energy to support research, education and strategic analysis to further CPS Energy’s mission and service to its customers and community, including focusing on areas such as: carbon management, capture and reutilization; distributed, secure smart grid network application; renewable energy and energy storage; energy efficiency and conservation and electric transportation.
On June 22, 2017, City Council approved Resolution 2017-06-22-0031R in Support of the Paris Agreement adopted on December 12, 2015, and the Mayor’s National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA). The MNCAA statement supports the “Paris Climate Agreement” goals that address greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and adaptation. Subsequently, on June 26, 2017, the CPS Energy Board of Directors allocated $500,000.00 to UTSA under the Collaboration Agreement to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan for the City of San Antonio.
The development of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan will include the following deliverables: 1) an updated greenhouse gas inventory with projected climate and greenhouse gas scenarios; 2) a vulnerability assessment; 3) multi-sector mitigation and adaptation strategies and; 4) co-benefit and cost benefits analysis. Smart cities solutions and equity values will be integrated into the framework of the plan development process. The public engagement component will ensure diverse and meaningful participation through: project website, community and neighborhood meetings, “Go-to-Them” meetings, “Meetings in a Box”, social media, marketing and communications and cross-collaboration and messaging.
The Paris Accord is a non-binding pledge within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. There is no mechanism to mandate a country to establish a greenhouse gas reduction target. Consensus exists among the world’s leading climate scientists that global warming is caused by emissions of greenhouse gases originating from human activities and is among the most significant problems facing the world today. Documented impacts of global warming include but are not limited to increased occurrences of extreme weather events (e.g. droughts and floods), adverse impacts on ecosystems, public health, demographic patterns and local, national, and international economies.
ISSUE:
This Ordinance authorizes an Interagency Participation Agreement with CPS Energy and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in coordination with the City of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, through funding in an amount up to $500,000.00 allocated within a collaboration agreement between CPS Energy and UTSA.
The adoption of this Ordinance is consistent with the goals of the SA Tomorrow Sustainability Plan, adopted by City Council on August 11, 2016, for the City to “Lead by Example” by developing a Climate Action Plan, including a study of future San Antonio-specific climate projections.
The SA Tomorrow Sustainability Plan includes numerous strategies related to resilience and climate and has three resilient-related appendices: the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Climate Vulnerability Assessment, and a Climate Trends and Projections Analysis.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council could:
• Approve the program as presented.
• Approve the program with changes in the parameters of the proposed program, such as reducing the scope of work and extending a request for proposal for outside vendors to assist the City to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
• Postpone or cancel the agreement. Cancellation of this ordinance would result in City staff seeking an alternative funding source to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
This action accomplishes the goal of coordinating the City’s and CPS Energy’s initiatives to help increase the efficiency of efforts and resulting in a better utilization of resources.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance poses no direct fiscal impact to City operations.
RECOMMENDATION:
City staff recommends approval of an Ordinance authorizing an Interagency Participation Agreement with CPS Energy and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), in coordination with the City of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, to develop a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, through funding in an amount up to $500,000.00 allocated within a collaboration agreement between CPS Energy and UTSA.