City Council Agenda and Packet 2022 09 27 SP

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Pa g e 14 1. Introduction Climate change is impacting Colorado and the City of Louisville (the City / Louisville) today. This is evidenced by extrem e weather events such as the Marshall Fire, an unusual and out - of -season wildfire exacerbated by a warming climate, long term drought, and statewide average temperature increases. A press release published in April of 2022 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Clim ate Change beg ins with a sentence written in bold text: "The evidence is clear: the time for action is now. We can halve em issions by 2030.` It is short and dem and ing, yet hopeful. The press release emphasizes the weight held by choices m ade in this decade and the power held by decision makers to "secure a livable future" for their com m unities. 1.1THE CITY OF LAUISVILLE'S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS The City of Louisville has recognized the need for climate action, and has made a strong commitment to public health and safety by way of the City's clean energy and carbon emissions reduction goals which are outlined in Resolution 25, Series 2019,": 1. Meet all of Louisville's municipal electric needs with 100%carbon-free sources by 2025. 2. Reduce core municipal GHG emissions"' annually below the 2016 baseline through 2025. 3. Generate 75%of Louisville's residential and commercial/industrial electric needs from carbon -free sources by 2030. 4. Reduce core community GHG em issions'l annually below the 2016 baseline through 2030. As reported in Louisville's Sustainability Action Plan, electricity and natural gas are the City's largest sources of emissions Therefore, a crucial path forward for achieving these goals involves transforming energy use in the City's residential and commercial building stock. Reducing the energy consumption of buildings and transitioning away from fossil -fuel combustion equipment are effective strategies to decrease emissions and support meeting electricity needs with carbon -free sources.This report focuses on code options for new buildings, but future efforts should address existing build stockto help meet carbon emission reduction goals. 1.2 CURRENT COMM ERCIALAND RESIDENTIAL CODE STANDARDS FOR NEw CONSTRUCTION The lifetime of buildings constructed today ranges from 30 to 130 years.v'If not built to a more stringent energy code, new construction can contribute to carbon pollution from less efficient buildings for generations, creating increasingly difficult conditions for climate change G ro u p L 0 T u L city{- e rG i r. _ = u IN c E Vourye irV & SuSirjir) Wily Louis' V ill e 10