Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-24-19 BCP Meeting Minutes Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group October 24, 2019, 2:00pm Madison Room, Bozeman City Hall (121 N Rouse Ave.) Present: Natalie Meyer, Heather Higinbotham Davies, Dan Perata (Independent Power Systems), Kristen Walser (Citizens Climate Lobby), Anne Ready (Citizens Climate Lobby), Rick Taylor (citizen), Jay Sinnott (citizen), Terry Cunningham A. Call Meeting to Order B. Changes to the Agenda C. Public Comment D. Perata asked what kind of metrics the City is using to know how we’re doing, what we are comparing ourselves to, and how to determine whether that is “good.” N. Meyer said metrics would be addressed in the agenda items. D. Minutes Minutes were tabled until next meeting. E. New Business 1) Bozeman Climate Plan N. Meyer shared that it has been a complicated process to select the Climate Team, due to the number of highly qualified applicants. T. Cunningham shared that it was difficult to keep the group small enough to remain functional while also truly representing the broad levels of expertise and community. The selection team consisted of N. Meyer, T. Cunningham, J. Henderson, and H. Higinbotham Davies. Each person scored all applicants based on a matrix, and scores were compiled to select the final team members. Scoring was based on expertise in the focus areas of the Climate Plan. The Climate Team ended up being larger than originally planned (35 members instead of 25) to include the needed expertise and representation. Climate Team workshop 1: N. Meyer shared that the first workshop included a presentation from Karin Kirk, a science and communications specialist on how to effectively communicate about climate change, and small group discussions by Climate Plan topic area. T. Cunningham shared that the inclusion of youth on the Climate Team was not token, and that he was impressed with the youth representatives’ knowledge and passion at this workshop. Mayor’s Proclamation of Intent: Mayor Andrus opened the workshop with her Proclamation of Intent (attached), setting the stage for the group to think big. K. Walser asked what the steps would be to get the Mayor to sign a proclamation or resolution to support the Carbon Fee & Dividend Act. She shared that the City of Whitefish has passed a resolution supporting this federal legislation. A. Ready shared that Travers City, Michigan has also supported the legislation. N. Meyer shared that she is still getting clarity on the Mayor’s Proclamation of Intent, such as whether it applies only to City operations or to the broader community. She said support for Carbon Fee & Dividend legislation should perhaps be considered by the Climate Team as a formal recommendation in the Climate Plan. However, others pointed out that the legislation is immediate and the Climate Plan will not be completed until summer. T. Cunningham shared that the City wanted to show leadership while also recognizing that the Climate Team will be working on specifics. He felt that the resolution offered guidance and demonstrated that the Commission supported ambitious goals and was meant to empower the Climate Team. A. Ready shared that numerous economists from both the Republican and Democratic parties have endorsed the Carbon Fee & Dividend Act through former chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen’s letter recommending the policy. She shared that MSU also supports the legislation. J. Sinnott shared that in order to meet a goal like that, the public, state government, and local businesses have to be engaged with meeting goals. A. Ready shared that a number of local businesses have already endorsed the bill, including Bridger Bowl, the fly fishing community, and Olympic athletes. N. Meyer said this was a good segue to the Mountain Town 2030 Net Zero Conference. 2) MT 2030 Net Zero Conference Debrief N. Meyer shared that the MT 2030 conference created partnerships to support these goals. She shared that the City of Bozeman had five representatives attend the conference (N. Meyer, J. Henderson, H. Higinbotham Davies, Commissioner T. Cunningham, and Mayor C. Andrus). She shared that she also invited NorthWestern Energy to attend (representatives Heather Bellamy and John Bushnell did attend) because the CEO of Rocky Mountain Power was a keynote speaker, sharing about their innovative partnership with Park City and Salt Lake City, UT to reach a net zero by 2030 goal. She shared that the conference had powerful speakers. T. Cunningham shared that one of the last actions of the state legislature of Utah took was to pass HB 411, which was carried by a Republican legislator. It outlined the partnership of Park City, Salt Lake City, Summit County, and Rocky Mountain Power to reach 100% net renewable energy in a way that would not raise the utility rates of other communities. It requires new generation to be in communities that will be affected by loss of fossil fuel jobs. It included an opt-out provision, which was an important sticking point. The Utility and communities went to the legislature together, which was a more powerful and more effective approach. N. Meyer shared that Utah needed state enabling legislation to move forward on their goals. It is not yet clear whether Montana would need state enabling legislation, but she surmised that it would be a good idea. N. Meyer shared that NorthWestern Energy is mandated to update their E+Green program and that they are putting together a stakeholder group to evaluate the program and present a proposal to the PSC within 180 days of the rate case resolution. She shared that it will include a Green Tariff program that will be structured as an opt-in rather than an opt-out, which may make it harder to motivate customers to participate. R. Taylor asked if we know where we are in terms of generation in meeting the 100% electricity goal. N. Meyer shared that NWE will say their grid is 60% renewable, which is technically true, but they own significantly less generation than most utilities and they purchase a large portion of their power on the open market so it is difficult to quantify accurately. She shared that NWE has communicated confidence that with some qualifying facility contracts expiring and an additional 900 MW of wind soon to come online. D. Perata asked if there is an existing roadmap. He shared that in his belief, the City could be net zero by building a big enough solar array next year. He asked what the motivation is for waiting until 2030. N. Meyer responded that it is not that simple. She shared that under current law, the utility needs to own the generation, there is an arduous process to identify locations, and many other complicated factors, including navigating legal challenges and restrictions. J. Sinnott suggested that another option could be to create a locally owned utility. N. Meyer responded that this could be a discussion in the future but that right now the City is looking at the path of least resistance, which is to work with the utility to set the goal of 100% net renewable electricity. N. Meyer shared the climate profile with the group and pointed out that the metric tons of emissions per person has decreased from 14.7 to 11.5 metric tons of CO2e, which feels positive but in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, we will have to reduce that to 7.2 to 4.2 metric tons of CO2e per person. N. Meyer shared that the notes from the Climate Team meeting and Community Forum are being compiled, and that next steps are to present a vision statement and provisional goals to the City Commission, and a clarification that the team needs to make sure the actions proposed will be sufficient to reach the set goals. J. Sinnott shared that it was impressive to see the integration of departments and that this wasn’t the case just a few years ago. He shared that there was significant staff involvement, both in time and commitments, at both the Climate Team and Community Forum meetings. He shared about his participation as the formal Climate Team representative from the Bozeman Climate Partners. He participated in the community development group, which had broad representation. He shared that it was a privilege to be part of the group. He said that the group tried to include more radical ideas regardless of practicality, such as reducing parking requirements, high density housing, and alternative transportation. He said they made efforts to include the views of the representative from Gallatin County. N. Meyer shared that after the December Climate Team meeting, the focus will be on industry- or sector-specific focus groups to gather widespread engagement. She shared that the project team is discussing ideas such as direct presentations to the community and organizations active in disaster response. She shared that the project team is also planning community surveys for increased public engagement. Upcoming Events 1) City Commission Meeting, Vision and Provisional Goals Action Item, December 16, 2019 G. Remarks for the Good of the Order H. Next Meeting – TBD (rescheduling because next regularly scheduled meeting falls on Thanksgiving Day) I. ADJOURNMENT – 3:30 p.m. For more information please contact Staff Liaison, Natalie Meyer at nmeyer@bozeman.net This working group generally meets the fourth Thursday of the month from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Committee meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability and require assistance, please contact our ADA coordinator, Mike Gray at 582-3232.