The FCSG sent the statement below to City Council on October 7th.  Council ended up not cutting the Air Quality or Climate Action Program budgets, and we sent the follow-up letter to council on November 2nd that is appended beneath the statement. *********************************************************************************************** The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) would like to bring to Council’s notice budget item 27.10, Reductions to the Air Quality program, and we would like Council to consider restoring this funding. This cut would adversely affect air monitoring, public education, and regional cooperation. Given that: • We live in an ozone non-attainment area; • We are…

The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) insists that Broadcom’s massive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be included in the City’s GHG inventory. Those emissions – consisting mainly of fluorinated gases (F-gases) accounted for fully 8% of Fort Collins’ total GHG emissions in 2018. Ignoring those F-gases – or simply mentioning them in a side-bar to the main GHG inventory – is akin to sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that if we don’t count them, those gases won’t really damage the climate.

The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate (of which the FCSG is a founding member) asked Colorado General Assembly and Congressional candidates where they stand on issues related to climate protection and clean energy. 61 General Assembly candidates and five Congressional candidates who will be on the primary ballot this June responded to questions asking them to rate the urgency of addressing climate change, state whether they would sign on to the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge”, and declare their support or opposition to a number of state and national level climate policy initiatives. We’ve attached the results here, and…

When the City of Fort Collins reports that community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are 14% below 2005 levels (1), there should be a big asterisk at the end of the sentence. That’s because the City ignores emissions of fluorinated gases, such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). One company located in Fort Collins – Broadcom (formerly Avago Technologies) – emits huge quantities of these gases, mainly SF6. Astoundingly, Broadcom’s fluorinated gas emissions make it the largest single GHG emitter in the City (2). Since the contribution of fluorinated gases (also known as “F-gases”) is generally much smaller…

Fort Collins City councilmembers discussed progress made toward meeting the community’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals during their work session on Tuesday, July 23rd. While the final numbers for 2018 won’t be available for another month, here is what we do know: 1. Trends in the electric and natural gas sectors – which together accounted for over 70% of reported community GHG emissions in 2017 – suggest that it will likely be difficult for Fort Collins to meet its 2020 emission reduction goal. 2. If the City were to count GHG emissions from one large industrial emitter (Broadcom), our…

Extinction Rebellion Fort Collins (XR FC) and the Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) are calling on the City of Fort Collins to declare a Climate Emergency. We have submitted a resolution to City Council that would do just that. The resolution would also a) direct City staff to establish future reviews of the City’s 2030 and 2050 climate goals, b) direct City staff to include representatives of indigenous communities displaced from Northern Colorado on the Climate Action Plan Community Advisory Committee, c) direct City staff to educate the community about the climate crisis, and d) call on other governments and…