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Strategies and Actions Strategies and Actions Introduction This Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a beginning of a journey towards a more sustainable Redwood City. In these pages, the community members of Redwood City will find policies and programs that aim to reduce emissions, conserve energy, save money, and help Redwood City continue to be a beautiful and healthy place to live, work, and play as time goes on. By adopting this CAP, Redwood City is committing to take action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The programs and policies described give Redwood City a viable path towards reducing emissions that, combined with emissions reductions resulting from state and regional policies, will meet the emissions reduction goals established in Senate Bill 350 (SB 350) (see Appendix C.2 for more information). Each section below outlines the specific actions (also known as "measures") to reduce GHG emissions in Redwood City. Some measures reduce emissions from the community at large, while others may specifically focus on the operations of Redwood City. Most measures lead to an estimated reduction in GHG emissions that is quantifiable. Some measures are not quantifiable and are consequently considered "supporting measures" because they support the achievement of related, quantifiable measures. Strategies to Get Us There The goals and actions presented in this CAP will work together towards achieving Redwood City's goal to attain carbon neutrality well before 2045. Energy & Water What Are We Talking About? In California, buildings account for 70 percent of total electricity use43 and 20 percent of total GHG emissions44. See Appendix B.3 for more information on trends in state emissions. In 2017, buildings in the residential and commercial/industrial sectors accounted for 36.5 percent of total emissions in Redwood City, with 67.5 percent of building emissions resulting from natural gas consumption and 32.5 percent resulting from electricity consumption. Electricity and Natural Gas Electricity and natural gas are the most common energy sources used in buildings. Electricity is primarily used in buildings to provide lighting, refrigeration, ventilation, cooling and to power things like computers, phones, and displays. Natural gas is primarily used in buildings to provide space heating, water heating, and cooking. In order to reach the Redwood City's 2030 emissions reduction target, natural gas consumption will need to decline significantly through a combination of energy efficiency and electrification. Energy efficiency is simply using less energy to perform the same task; for example, replacing a low -efficiency gas furnace with a high -efficiency gas furnace. Electrification is the practice of replacing equipment in buildings that is powered by natural gas, including gas furnaces and gas water heaters, with electric equipment, such as air source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. City of Redwood City Climate Action Plan q4