Pasadena is now committed to achieving 100% carbon free electricity by 2030. As far as I’m concerned, this is a unanimous mandate from the City Council, not a lofty, aspirational policy goal. If challenges such as the affordability of the new energy sources arise, we must find solutions and stay true to our commitment to go carbon free. If we need to subsidize low-income families, I'm all for that. If we need to look at different approaches to our rate structure, I'm all for that, too. But we cannot abandon this commitment just because it turns out to be more costly. We have to do this.
Climate change is truly an existential threat. We’re Pasadena. If we can't do this, nobody can. We’re the home of Caltech, JPL, the Carnegie Observatory, and the best minds in the country. We don’t want to go along to get along. We want to be a leader. We want to far exceed the state’s bare minimum requirements.
Last night, I also successfully added an amendment to include an additional Whereas in the resolution that acknowledges the support of the City’s Environmental Advisory Commission, the PUSD Board of Education, and the PCC Board of Trustees for carbon free energy sources by 2030, as well as that Pasadena has been a leader in this space for a long time by adopting the UN Urban Environmental Accords in 2006, a Green Cities declaration, and an environmental charter. Those are important historical documents that demonstrate this Council’s and the City’s leadership on climate change action.
–Councilmember Madison