Board of Supervisors approves Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory as baseline for climate resilience, adaptation

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today approved an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions that showed a 37 percent decrease in emissions from 2017 to 2021. Officials attribute the decrease primarily to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval of the County of Sonoma Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory followed a status update and public workshop on progress toward the Climate Action and Resiliency pillar of the County’s strategic plan.

In total, the county produced 31,712 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2021, a number that will be used to measure the county's progress in reducing emissions and taking actions needed to meet the County’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

“With today’s action, we continue our response to a generational issue, an existential issue,” said Supervisor Chris Coursey, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “This baseline not only tells us where we are, but where we need to go to mitigate the impacts of climate disruption. We can be proud of our work so far, and of our commitment to keeping this priority in focus.”

“Despite being devastated by multiple successive natural disasters and a global pandemic in recent years, we continue to engage in progress toward our climate action goals,” said District One Supervisor Susan Gorin, a member of the board’s Climate Action Workshop Planning Committee. “The baseline inventory is an important starting point and essential to our understanding of where and how to maximize critical public funds in adapting to climate change.”

“Sonoma County is a canary in the coal mine and uniquely positioned to lead on climate efforts,” said District Five Supervisor, Lynda Hopkins, also a member of the ad hoc committee. “More and more communities across the country have come to understand what we have already learned. Our swift action to adapt to and mitigate the reality of climate change will create a ripple effect with profound positive impacts beyond our county.” 

Following today’s workshop and direction from the Board of Supervisors, the County’s Climate Action and Resiliency Division will conduct public engagement through focus groups, town halls and surveys, and return to the Board in December with a set of options to reach the county’s emission targets. The final Climate Resilience Master Action Plan is expected to go before the Board in Spring 2024.

Strategies identified to produce the greatest emissions reductions include shifting County electricity purchases to Sonoma Clean Power's Evergreen program; completing energy efficiency upgrades and electrification retrofits to county facilities; electrifying County fleet vehicles and equipment; increasing diversion of waste from landfills through education and improved waste receptacles; and exploring ways to reduce workforce commute emissions.

In 2019, the Board of Supervisors officially declared a climate emergency in Sonoma County. To date, more than $110 million has been dedicated to Climate Action and Resilience programs countywide.

Materials related to today’s public workshop, including all staff presentations, fact sheets and reports are available at: 
https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6326370&GUID=C1AD234F-7823-4BE8-B3B7-1E5934F970D7

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Media Contact: 
Dan Virkstis, Communications Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403