AMENDED Agenda Packet 4-8-19 Meeting

Home Browse Search

developing a mutual agreement with Northwest Natural that could include GHG reduction strategies and incentives, rather than altering the franchise conditions. •Mayor Vinis – reported that she had met with representatives from Northwest Natural andthey agreed to schedule a joint work session with the council; encouraged looking at strategies that could be done quickly and with little resistance. •Councilor Clark – said that the demand for electricity will continue to grow as industriesand households move away from GHG-emitting services; asked about the maximum capacity of current infrastructure in delivering electricity to Eugene; supported efforts to plan intelligently and focus on efforts to decarbonize transportation. •Councilor Syrett – encouraged participation by a representative from Good Company at thenext work session; supported further consideration of potential incentives for switching over to electricity, implementation of a hybrid rate, and a pathway toward renewable energy source; supported a binding Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Natural, but noted that imposing new franchise conditions offered greater assurance of compliance. •Councilor Semple – agreed that focusing more energy on vehicular emissions would havebiggest impact on climate recovery goals; supported working cooperatively with Northwest Natural and recognizing work they are already doing to address GHG issues; suggested examining the franchise agreement and making it less aggressively punitive. •Councilor Zelenka – supported holding the next work session before council’s spring break;said conversion to renewable and the use of offsets can be very effective in implementing the council’s climate recovery strategy. 2.WORK SESSION: Climate Action Plan 2.0 Update and Gap StrategySustainability Program Manager Ethan Nelson and Climate Analyst Mark Nystrom presentedinformation about progress made on the Climate Action Plan 2.0 and gap strategy.Council Discussion •Councilor Zelenka – supported adding more resources towards quantifying what is beingdone so that progress can be accurately measured; asked for information about what is beingdone to adapt to impacts of climate change already being seen; asked councilors to keep inmind that consumption-based analysis deals with much larger numbers/percentages; notedthat refrigerants are significant polluters and efforts to reduce them will yield significantresults; asked about categorizing 350 Eugene’s proposed actions into what can be done easilyand what will take more time and resources. •Councilor Syrett – noted that if the Oregon Legislature takes action on a cap and tradeproposal, it will substantially close the gap in Eugene’s sector-based CO 2 emissions strategy,but would still leave the consumption gap. •Mayor Vinis – thanked staff for the information they were able to provide and noted thataddressing these issues is an iterative process that requires more discussion.The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting: here. April 8, 2019, Meeting - Item 2A