Reso PC15-01 PC Reso (3051 ) to Adopt Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration - La Palma

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3.0 Environmental Impact Checklist a) Generate greenhouse gas emissions,either directly or indirectly,that may have a significant impact on the environment? b) Conflict with an applicable plan,policy, or regulation adopted for the purpose of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases? Less-than-Significant Impact. Global climate change is the alteration of the Earth's weather including its temperature,precipitation, and wind patterns. Global temperatures are affected by naturally occurring and anthropogenic-generated atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane,and nitrous oxide. These gases allow sunlight into the Earth's atmosphere,but prevent radiative heat from escaping into outer space, which is known as the "greenhouse" effect. The world's leading climate scientists have reached consensus that global climate change is underway and is very likely caused by humans. Twenty agencies at the international,national,state, and Iocal levels are considering strategies to control emissions of gases that contribute to global warming. There is no comprehensive strategy that is being implemented on a global scale that addresses climate change;however, in California a multiagency"Climate Action Team"has identified a range of strategies and the Air Resources Board, under. Assembly Bill (AB) 32,has been designated to adopt the main plan for reducing California's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.AB 32 requires achievement by 2020 of a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to 1990 emissions, and the adoption of rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. By 2050, the State of California plans to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels.While the state has established programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,there are no established standards for gauging the significance of greenhouse gas emissions. Neither CEQA nor the CEQA Guidelines provide any methodology for analysis of greenhouse gases. Given the "global" scope of global climate change,the challenge under CEQA is for a lead agency to translate the issue down to the level of a CEQA document for a specific project in a way that is meaningful to the decision making process. Under CEQA,the essential questions are whether a project creates or contributes to an environmental impact and what mitigation measures are available to avoid or reduce impacts. As discussed in Section 3.3,Air Quality,the 2010 BAAQMD CEQA Guidelines included screenmg criteria to provide lead agencies and project applicants with a conservative indication of whether a proposed project could result in potentially significant air quality impacts. The screening criteria developed for GHGs were derived using default emission assumptions in URBEMIS and using off-model GHG estimates for indirect emissions from electrical generator, solid waste, and water conveyance. These screening criteria are provided in the 2010 BAAQMD CEQA Guidelines but are being revised as of the 2012 Guidelines and are not yet available. For the purpose of this analysis, the City is using the 2010 screening criteria. BAAQMD has not adopted a threshold for construction-related GHG emissions or a GHG screening criteria for construction. The screening criteria for determining if operational GHG impacts are less than significant requires that a project is less than 56 single family dwelling units and the project only has emission sources that are included in the default assumption of La Palma Subdivision Project Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration 36