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RECOMMENDATIONS I I nine cities and the County have now completed their ship from Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith and Petaluma Coun - GHG inventories for their internal operations—the first step cilmember Pam Torliatt — both are members of the Air District's Board of this climate protection endeavor. The second step is to of Directors — on June 4, 2003 , the Air District approved $ 25 , 000 in set reduction targets . In considering how bold to be in set- funding for the project, scheduled . to begin in Fall 2003 . ting targets, here is some food for thought . Recommendation # 3 : All Sonoma County jurisdictions cooperate with the Air District- supported Countywide GHG Inventory Project . • Although the campaign we follow doesn 't prescribe, Cities for Cli - mate Protection® encourages municipalities to consider a 20 per. Sonoma 's cities and the County are engaged in a wide variety of en cent reduction target , ergy reduction strategies . Careful GHG tracking provides a means to • The Kyoto Protocol set a 7 percent U . S . emission reductions from gauge the impact of their efforts . ICLEI 's GHG emissions software is 1990 levels by 2012 . ( Because of emission increases, a small de - useful and user-friendly. For comprehensive and day-to- day tracking , crease from an earlier year can be more ambitious than a large de- other desirable features of a data system would likely 1 ) be web- based crease from a more recent year. ) so it's readily accessible, 2) facilitate comparisons between cities, and • Salt Lake City has pledged to meet the Kyoto target, to reduce 3 ) support as closely as possible " real time " energy and emissions GHG by 7 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012 . monitoring . • Scientists say that we need to reduce GHG emissions by at least RECOMMENDATION # 4: All Sonoma County jurisdictions coordinate 60 percent to avoid grave repercussions . tracking of GHG emissions , and by June 30, 2004, adopt a standard • Many promising opportunities exist for achieving ambitious GHG emissions measurement approach that supports energy efficiency reductions in Sonoma County. and climate protection efforts . • To lead by example, cities must continue their bold and visionary action , especially when facing a big challenge . Recommendations that reach community- wide Recommendation # 1 : City councils adopt a 20 % GHG reduction The general plan is the basic development blueprint for counties and target from 2000 to 2010 for their internal operations . cities, addressing all aspects of housing , traffic , natural resources , open space, safety, land use, and public facilities . General Plans for Once the target is set, the next step is for jurisdictions to develop a Sonoma County and its cities should reflect our commitment to plan for achieving their targets . County of Sonoma staff has been climate protection . engaged in creating a plan for meeting their 20 percent reduction tar- RECOMMENDATION # So All Sonoma County jurisdictions direct staff get for several months . They have done this under the auspices of to evaluate actions necessary to ensure their general plan reflect their the County 's Sustainability Planning and Practices Program - SP3 - commitment to climate protection , and target September 30, 2004, initiated by the Economic Development Board . No additional staff to report to the government bodies the results of these evaluations . i or consultants were hired for creating the GHG reduction plan . ICounty staff will provide this plan to cities to use as a template in More than the previous steps, setting targets, creating plans, and im - creating their own plans . plementing programs for community-wide GHG reduction involves Recommendation # 29 City councils direct staff to develop city- spew a greater commitment from residents, business, and government be- cific plans for achieving the cities ' GHG reduction targets, and by cause it expands climate protection efforts from internal . municipal June 30, 2004, adopt a plan for doing so . operations to the larger community. Fortunately, there are many en - couraging examples . Santa Rosa 's water conservation program sig - Last year the Sonoma County Mayors ' and Councilmembers ' As - nificantly reduced per capita water consumption . During California 's sociation of Sonoma County sent a letter to the Chairperson of the most recent energy crisis, residents rapidly reduced energy usage up Board of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District encouraging to 2 & percent . Expanding to the community level requires a greater the Air District to support climate protection in Sonoma County financial investment than the previous steps because of the need to and regionally., This generated a request to the Air District for fi - 9 q involve a larger and broader constituency. nancial support for the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency RECOMMENDATION # 6 : All Sonoma County jurisdictions cooperate to implement a GHG inventory for all of Sonoma County ( not just to identify a process and actions necessary to establish community- the municipalities ' internal operations), and to study the relation - wide targets, plans, and programs , and target September 30, 2004, ship between clean air and climate protection . Thanks to leader- as the date by which the approach for doing so is identified . 5