Laguna Beach endorses Paris Agreement on climate change

There was little doubt the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday would back pacts by other countries and cities to, among other steps, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, given the city’s track record of preserving thousands of acres of open space and conserving water.

The question was what steps would the city take in the coming years amid various reports of increased temperatures and sea-level rise that scientists have partly attributed to carbon emissions, such as burning fossil fuels.

Earlier this week the New York Times published a story about a federal climate change report awaiting approval by the Trump administration in which scientists from 13 federal agencies found it “extremely likely” that more than half the world’s mean temperature increase since 1951 can be linked to human influence, according to the article.

In a council chambers filled to near capacity, with several attendees wearing green shirts and holding signs that read “Laguna Is Still In,” the council unanimously adopted a resolution that supports goals of the Paris Agreement and commits the city to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through additional policies and programs than those currently included in its own Climate Protection Action Plan.

The council also directed city staff to explore ways of measuring greenhouse gas emissions and ways to reduce the emissions even further after some of the 34 speakers called for tangible steps the city would take going forward.

Resident Chris Prelitz did not support the document as presented to the council.

“What we have is a nice piece of fluff which says all the great things we’ve done, but it actually does not commit to anything,” Prelitz said. “I would support overwhelmingly if the language was amended and added that every other city has done. We will be the laughingstock of every other city that has signed on if we actually allow something like this to go forward.”

The Paris Agreement, which is voluntary, aims to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change website.

It also challenges countries to collectively cut the temperature increase even further to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Residents had contacted the city because they were concerned with President Trump’s decision earlier this year to remove the United States from the Paris Agreement, according to a city staff report.

Although there is no mechanism for cities and states to join the Paris Agreement, several cities, now including Laguna, are showing support through the group Mayors National Climate Action Agenda. The organization, co-founded by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, commits U.S. mayors to work together to strengthen local efforts to curb greenhouse gases.

Laguna Beach adopted a Climate Protection Action Plan in 2009 and updated it in 2012, the staff report said.The plan highlights several recommendations for reducing carbon emissions by cutting energy use, promoting green building practices, conserving water and encouraging public transportation such as the trolleys that ferry visitors and residents throughout town.

Laguna has taken steps to address some of these areas.

The city created bike routes through town and installed bike racks, required trash disposal trucks to use compressed natural gas, outlawed single-use plastic bags and implemented a recycled food waste program for restaurants, among other actions, according to the report.

The city also has weaved standards into its building code, such as encouraging programmable thermostats and discouraging use of air conditioners, the report said.

And the city said it would look to transform vacant lots that are either unused or sparingly used into parks with benches, shade trees, bike racks and patios with tables to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians, the report said.

“I appreciate the ongoing support that all of you have given to the Climate Protection Action Plan,” said resident Ginger Osborne, a member of the Citizens Advisory Group on Climate Change. “I’ve been motivated as well even more so as I have begun to suspect a chronic cough I have is provoked by air pollution in Laguna Beach.

“A couple of days ago I was wiping off the bottom of our patio table, pulled out the rag and it was black. Black soot. I get the same thing when I wipe down the electric car. It should not be black.”

Some speakers suggested the city should look into placing solar panels on its buildings, such as City Hall, while others said simple steps, such as placing containers for recyclables at beaches, would go a long way.

“There is stereotype about environmentalists that they are crazy and wacko and want to bring everyone back to the stone ages,” Councilman Steve Dicterow said. “I did not hear anything like that [Tuesday night]. I heard practical, pragmatic ideas that were common sense.”

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce