CHULA VISTA MAKES STATEMENT ON CLIMATE

City joins others in county to send message of urgency

Chula Vista has joined five other San Diego County cities and dozens more nationwide in declaring a climate emergency.

The City Council approved the resolution as a symbolic gesture to highlight the need for more action on the local level amid the effects of sea-level rise, wildfires and droughts.

“In order to get our nation to turn around ... we have to act locally, and demand that we make these changes in the way that we do things,” said Mayor Mary Casillas Salas.

Chula Vista now joins Del Mar, Encinitas, La Mesa, San Diego and Solana Beach in declaring a climate emergency. More than 2,000 jurisdictions have done the same across the world, including more than 160 in the United States.

The resolution, recommended by the city’s Sustainability Commission, aims to build on policies and programs the city has adopted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2018, Chula Vista’s greenhouse gas emissions from local government-related operations were 10,270 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which was 5 percent higher than emissions in 2016, but 67 percent less when compared to that of 1990. Most emissions in 2018 came from building energy use, solid waste and vehicles, according to the city’s January 2021 report about its emissions from 2018.

“The sooner emissions start decreasing, the easier the path to meet our goals,” said Edward Legaspi, who sits on the Sustainability Commission.

Among those goals, the declaration reads, is to update its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, reduce vehicle miles traveled and reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035 or earlier.

Chula Vista will also implement a “zero waste” plan, which the council adopted Tuesday. The goal is to minimize methane emissions by reducing the overall amount of waste the community produces. By 2035, the city wants to achieve 90 percent waste diversion by implementing a community practice to “reuse and recycle material.” There are six key tasks to achieve that, such as hosting more “fix-it” clinics where volunteers help repair and repurpose items as an alternative to disposing of them in landfills.

The new, six-acre food composting facility at the Otay Landfill will play an important role in helping the city reach its climate action goals. About 100 tons of food and yard waste from local residents and businesses can be broken down on-site so that the organic waste is diverted from landfills.

Organics, such as food scraps and yard trimmings, make up half of what Californians throw in landfills. That waste emits 20 percent of the state’s methane gas. In Chula Vista, about 41 percent of the city’s overall waste composition is organic material, Manuel Medrano, the city’s environmental services manager, said in a previous interview.

Other climate-related actions include becoming a founding member of San Diego Community Power to bring renewable energy to residents and joining a national coalition that focuses on reducing emissions from the building sector.

Several residents, including high school students, said that though the declaration is a formality, it commits Chula Vista to addressing the adverse impacts of climate change.

“This resolution is the first step to show that this council is serious about addressing climate change, but it’s not where it should stop,” said resident Karina Gonzalez.

JARROD VALLIERE U-T At the Otay Compost Facility, organic waste goes through a grinder that produces a fine mulch. By 2035, the city wants to achieve 90 percent waste diversion by putting in place a practice to reuse and recycle.