Comment Log Display

Chairperson Nichols:

I attended the May 24, 2012 Public Consultation Meeting on
Investment of Auction Funds from California Cap-and-Trade Program
on behalf of the City of Davis but was unable to speak due to the
limited time allocated to public comment (too many speakers).  The
following comments were prepared by the City of Davis for the
meeting:

Chairperson Nichols, Board Members, the City of Davis appreciates
the opportunity to provide comment on this important issue.

The City's Mayor, Joe Krovoza, was unable to attend today's meeting
due to scheduling conflicts but is very engaged in this topic and
brings a unique perspective as both the City's Mayor and the
Director of Development for the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center
and Institute for Transportation Studies.

The City wanted to make two simple comments, but first some
context.

In Davis, better than 20% of work trips are by bicycle, more than
double the amount of the next best city in the United States.  The
City is the birthplace of Title 24, which has gone on to save
Californians billions of dollars.  Davis is also home of the 1st
utility scale grid tied solar power plant in the country.

This context is provide to emphasize that the City has been
implementing energy reducing programs for decades - it understands
how to start and maintain programs that improve the community and
reduce GHG.  In addition, the majority of GHG emissions in
California come from activities that happen in its cities (50-70%
of GHG comes from activates related to consumers - LBNL, 2012).

The City would like to make two comments: one general and one
specific.

1.  The City believes that local governments are uniquely
positioned to play a significant role in implementing AB 32.  There
are more than 100 local climate actions plans in CA that have been
vetted and adopted by communities in every part of the state.  The
plans are essentially pre-existing investment plans that the State
can quickly and efficiently activate through Cap-and-Trade
investments.

2.  More specifically, the City would like to highlight the
critical role of social innovation at the local level and how it
connects to statewide GHG Reduction strategies.  We submit this
2012 White Paper (attached), Local Carbon Reduction Initiatives, in
support of the proposition that the State's GHG emission targets
cannot be achieved without a robust, strategic demand side strategy
designed to fully integrate with technological innovation and
current supply side programs.  The City calls your attention to the
involvement of Lawrence Berkeley National Labs in this white paper
as an example of the caliber of organizations that are directly
engaged in this issue and view it as a critical part of a solution
set for statewide GHG reductions.  One of LBNL's conclusions is
that focusing solely on technology, markets, and policy in climate
mitigation strategies is incomplete without including human and
social factors, which can be major drivers for technology adoption,
policy adoption, and market creation.

Davis and its partners encourage the ABR and its staff to directly
include local jurisdictions with long-term experience in
implementing GHG reduction programs in this critically important
discussion.  Thank you again for the opportunity to provide
comment.