10d. Order - Port of Seattle Greenhouse Gas Objectives Update
1 Item Number: 10d 2 Meeting Date: October 26, 2021 3 4 ORDER 2021-10: 5 AN ORDER OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 6 7 to endorse the Executive Director's acceleration of the 8 carbon emission reduction targets of the Port of Seattle. 9 10 PROPOSED 11 OCTOBER 26, 2021 12 13 INTRODUCTION 14 The impacts of climate change are evident across ecosystems and cultures around the world. The 15 August 2021 declaration by the UN Secretary General called the latest Intergovernmental Panel 16 on Climate Change (IPCC) report a "Code Red for humanity" and underscores the urgent need for 17 action. That same report also emphasized that human actions still have the potential to determine 18 the future course of climate and that the worst outcomes of climate change can be avoided or 19 limited with strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse 20 gases (GHG). 21 22 The Century Agenda calls for the Port of Seattle to reduce air pollutants and carbon emissions, 23 and sets the target for those reductions. For those GHG emissions the Port directly and indirectly 24 controls (Scope 1 and 2), the target is currently a reduction of 50 percent below 2005 levels by 25 2030 and to be at least carbon neutral by 2050. Similarly, the Century Agenda sets an objective 26 and target for the Port's GHG "influenced emissions" (Scope 3) of 50 percent below 2007 by 2030 27 and 80 percent below 2007 by 2050. 28 29 The Port is making strong progress toward these targets, particularly due to the purchase of 30 renewable natural gas (RNG) to heat Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and to fuel 31 shuttle buses. Significant emission reductions have also been achieved in the Port's maritime 32 operations due in large part by international and national maritime regulations of fuel quality, 33 increased use of shore power by cruise vessels, as well as by innovations in vessel and equipment 34 efficiency. 35 36 While the Port's aggressive carbon reduction initiatives have already achieved a 50 percent 37 reduction in portwide Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, the IPCC report makes it clear that the world 38 needs to accelerate progress to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. In response, the Port of 39 Seattle will be modifying its targets to meet that global call for action. Furthermore, the changes 40 necessary to achieve accelerated targets will also prepare the Port of Seattle and its partners for 41 an economy reliant on renewable sources of energy rather than fossil fuels. In addition, those 42 preparations will result in improvements to environmental and community health, as well as 43 greater competitiveness given the increasing pressure on businesses to reduce their carbon 44 footprint. Order 2021-10 Acceleration of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets Page 1 of 4 45 46 Therefore, the Commission is fully supportive of the Executive Director's recommendation to 47 update the Century Agenda objectives and targets to be net-zero or better on Scope 1 and 2 48 emissions by 2040, and carbon neutral or better on Scope 3 emissions by 2050. This change to 49 our emission reduction targets sends a clear market signal to industry and other Ports to partner 50 with us in the transition to clean fuels. 51 52 53 TEXT OF THE ORDER 54 To recognize the urgency of action needed to address climate change, the Port Commission 55 hereby formally endorses the Executive Director to update the Port of Seattle's Century Agenda 56 GHG reduction targets to the following: 57 58 1) Scope 1 and 2 Port [Directly and Indirectly] Controlled Emissions: 59 a. 15% below 2005 levels by 2020 60 b. 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 61 c. Net-zero or better by 2040 62 63 2) Scope 3 Port Influenced Emissions 64 a. 50% below 2007 by 2030 65 b. Carbon neutral or better by 2050 66 67 68 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ORDER 69 The Port of Seattle has a goal to be the greenest and most energy-efficient port in North America 70 and the Port's operating divisions are implementing GHG reduction plans to that end. 71 72 Recent Aviation Division reduction efforts include: 73 (1) Signing a 10-year contract in Q2 2020 to supply renewable natural gas (RNG) to fuel both 74 the boilers and Rental Car Facility (RCF) bus fleet at SEA 75 (2) Using renewable diesel in diesel fleet vehicles 76 (3) Procurement of Green Direct electricity for our Puget Sound Energy electricity accounts 77 (4) Providing airlines access to preconditioned air 78 79 Also, staff are partnering with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate 80 alternatives for updating the central mechanical plant with low-carbon fuels and advanced 81 technologies. Similarly, Aviation's Facilities and Infrastructure team continues to implement 82 energy saving projects throughout the terminal including lighting and heating ventilation and 83 cooling (HVAC) system upgrades. 84 85 In addition, the Aviation Division continues to develop partnerships and initiatives to reduce 86 Scope 3 emissions, such as advocating for policies (e.g., Clean Fuels Standard) in Washington, 87 providing airlines access to pre-conditioned air to reduce aircraft auxiliary power unit run-times 88 and electric infrastructure for airlines to convert their diesel tug fleet. The Port is also conducting Order 2021-10 Acceleration of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets Page 2 of 4 89 economic and technical research on infrastructure needs, feedstock availability, and production 90 facility costs for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). A joint study with King County evaluating the 91 feasibility of using municipal solid waste as a feedstock for SAF will be underway in 2022. 92 93 Lastly, the Aviation Division is developing several initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from 94 passenger vehicles driving to and from SEA, such as evaluating policy incentives to encourage 95 ground transportation service providers to transition to electric vehicles (EV) and use renewable 96 fuels, working with King County Metro on digital ticketing for transit, and installing EV charging 97 stations across SEA facilities. 98 99 Recent Maritime reduction efforts include: 100 (1) Provision of shorepower for cruise ships 101 (2) Improved equipment efficiency 102 103 Upcoming Maritime/Economic Development Division (EDD) GHG reduction efforts include 104 implementing the objectives within the 2020 Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy and the 105 strategies in the Port's implementation plan, Charting the Course to Zero: Port of Seattle's 106 Maritime Climate and Air Action Plan (MCAAP). 107 108 The MCAAP identifies emission reduction actions by 2025 and by 2030 for each source of 109 maritime-related emissions to achieve a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and 110 remain on course to phase out seaport-related emissions by 2050. Key commitments include: 111 (1) Utilize partnerships with community, industry, and government to reduce emissions 112 (2) Transitioning 100 percent of Port-owned light-duty vehicles to electric models or use 113 renewable fuels 114 (3) Eliminating fossil natural gas use in Port-owned buildings 115 (4) Installing shore power at all cruise ship berths 116 (5) Reaching 100 percent of homeport cruise ship calls connecting to shore power 117 (6) Addressing key constraints to deploy infrastructure for zero-emissions equipment, 118 locomotives, vehicles, vessels, and building through the completion and early 119 implementation of the Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy. 120 121 Reaching the new GHG reduction targets endorsed by this Order will require additional 122 investment and commitment from Port staff and partners. The Aviation team is already moving 123 in this direction with many projects underway. Although there will be some cost increases due to 124 compressing the implementation schedule, it is unlikely that moving the target up by ten years 125 will change the budget dramatically; however, the Port will need to commit financial and other 126 resources to ensure the organization remains on track to meet its goals. 127 128 For Maritime and EDD, given that the Port's Maritime and EDD emissions have increased in recent 129 years, achieving an accelerated GHG reduction target of net-zero Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 130 by 2040 will require several conditions and significant additional effort. 131 (1) Accelerate the elimination of fossil natural gas HVAC systems in Port-managed properties 132 and at all Port properties. Order 2021-10 Acceleration of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets Page 3 of 4 133 (2) Purchase renewable natural gas for HVAC and domestic hot water systems within their 134 useful life or prohibitively expensive to electrify. 135 (3) Purchase renewable electricity from Seattle City Light and/or invest in additional onsite 136 renewable energy production ahead of the Clean Energy Transformation Act deadline. 137 (4) Accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Fleet Plan to deploy EV charging across 138 waterfront properties and purchase electric vehicles. 139 140 The Maritime team expects that changing the GHG targets will result in significant new urgency 141 to prioritize capital projects with carbon reduction opportunitieswhich in today's market, 142 without a uniform price on carbon, come at an incremental price above the conventional 143 approach. Accelerating decarbonization will put pressure on the capital budget immediately and 144 the Port must not forgo any opportunities to eliminate emissions as they arise in the annual 145 budget. Under the Sustainable Evaluation Framework, this may mean prioritizing approaches and 146 technologies that eliminate emissions over options that may carry a lower cost but also lower 147 emissions reductions. In addition to capital expenditures, achieving the goals 10 years earlier will 148 likely require additional staff support or increased use of outside services. 149 150 Partnerships will be essential to achieve changes in Scope 3 emissions goals, and we will need to 151 rely significantly on major federal and international policy changes, increased public and private 152 sector incentives, and additional technological innovation and advancements. For Aviation, the 153 Port can continue to reduce emissions by: 154 (1) Advocating for state and national policies that strengthen tailpipe standards for carbon 155 emissions, support initiatives to require all vehicles sold in the U.S. to be EV and install 156 charging infrastructure. 157 (2) Increasing environmental performance requirements for TNCs and taxis through service 158 agreements and expand those requirements to all ground transportation providers at 159 SEA. 160 (3) Continuing to lead in developing SAF although feedstocks for this fuel may be limited, 161 particularly as those feedstocks compete with other on-road renewable fuels (e.g., 162 renewable diesel). 163 164 For Maritime, the Port can influence maritime-related Scope 3 emissions by: 165 (1) Completing the installation of shore power at Pier 66 and working with the cruise lines to 166 reach 100 percent of homeport cruise ships equipped with shore power by 2030 and a 167 100 percent connection rate. 168 (2) Completing and implementing the Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy, which will 169 create a roadmap to decarbonize maritime operations in Seattle. 170 (3) Partnering with the NW Seaport Alliance to identify ways the Seattle Homeport can 171 contribute to meeting the Alliance's goals for the North Harbor. 172 (4) Engaging at the national and international levels to strengthen standards to support 173 sustainable maritime fuels and the transition to zero-emission technologies. 174 (5) Implementing green leasing policies that incorporate sustainability best practices into 175 landside leases. 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