Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Adopt Resolution Declaring a Climate Emergency
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Consistent with prior City Council direction, staff recommends that the City Council approve a resolution declaring a climate emergency.
BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS
The threat of climate change and the need to proactively address it continues to be a policy issue of paramount public concern, as can be seen by the increase in wildfires, floods, rising seas, droughts, and extreme weather patterns. A recent state report, Rising Seas in California, projects the possibility of up to 10 feet of sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay by year 2100, a scenario that is consistent with observed rapid Antarctic ice sheet mass loss. If such a scenario were to happen, it would impose significant negative impacts to the City of San Leandro and virtually every other coastal community in the Bay Area.
The City Council has previously taken numerous steps and adopted various actions to protect local residents and wildlife from the consequences of climate change.
Coming on the heels of these prior actions, the City Council also expressed a desire to consider adopting a resolution that formally declares a climate emergency, and requests regional collaboration to restore a safe climate. Based on that direction, City staff prepared the attached resolution for the Council's consideration. The language contained in that resolution is consistent with similar resolutions that were also adopted by neighboring municipalities throughout the region, including the cities of Hayward, Berkeley, and Oakland.
The resolution affirms the City's commitment to proceed with a sense of urgency in carrying out various steps to address climate change, including reducing citywide greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible, safely drawing down carbon from the atmosphere, and accelerating adaptation and resilience strategies. It also calls ...
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