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5.21 Climate Change

Strategy include: expanding the requirements for cleaner low carbon fuels; incentives for the
turnover of equipment and fleets to the cleanest technologies; pilot studies to demonstrate
new clean technologies; programs to ensure that emission control systems remain durable
over vehicle lifetimes.

California New Residential Zero Net Energy Action Plan

In June 2015, the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities
Commission jointly published the California New Residential Zero Net Energy Action Plan
2015-2020 (ZNE Plan) (CEC 2015c). The ZNE Plan is designed to operationalize the State’s
goal to have 100% of new homes achieve zero net energy (ZNE) by establishing guiding
principles for establishing a regulatory framework achieving that goal by 2020 (CEC 2015c).
Starting in 2008, the Title 24 energy efficiency requirements for residential homes have been
periodically ratcheted up with the objective of eventually achieving the ZNE goal, with
updates adopted in 2013 (effective 2014) and 2016 (effective 2017). With each update, the
Title 24 standards efficiency requirements have increased at a rate of 12-15% in each cycle.
The 2016 standards that went into effect on January 1, 2017 get still closer to ZNE by
requiring, for example, high efficiency lighting, high efficiency walls and attics with increased
continuous insulation, and high efficiency water heating systems. According to the ZNE Plan,
the 2019 update to Title 24 (effective 2020) will require full ZNE for all new residential
construction.

Regional

Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District

The AVAQMD has adopted GHG emissions requirements into the appropriate Rules and
Regulations. The AVAQMD’s CEQA and Federal Conformity Guidelines (2011) establishes a
CEQA significance threshold of 100,000 tons (90,718 metric tons) of CO2e per year for GHG
emissions, as discussed in Section 5.21.6, Environmental Impacts.

South Coast Air Quality Management District

On December 5, 2008, the SCAQMD Governing Board adopted its staff proposal for an interim
CEQA GHG significance threshold for projects where the SCAQMD is the lead agency
(SCAQMD 2008). Currently, the SCAQMD Governing Board has only adopted thresholds
relevant to industrial (stationary source) projects. To achieve a policy objective of capturing
90 percent of GHG emissions from new residential/commercial development projects and
implement a “fair share” approach to reducing emission increases from each sector, SCAQMD
staff have proposed as a draft approach combining performance standards and screening
thresholds. At this time, the SCAQMD has not adopted any significance thresholds for new
residential, commercial, or mixed use development projects, but has proposed several draft
thresholds over the last few years. The SCAQMD’s latest iteration of proposed thresholds, as
introduced in September 2010 (SCAQMD 2010), are discussed in Section 5.21.6,
Environmental Impacts.

Since sharing the proposed approach to CEQA significance at its GHG CEQA Significance
Threshold Stakeholder Working Group meeting in September 2010, the SCAQMD has

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Draft EIR