
From: laura gibbons
To: Commission-Public-Records
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Testimony for the 9/7 Port Commission meeting.
Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020 5:53:32 PM
WARNING: External email. Links or attachments may be unsafe.
Commissioners,
I am Laura Gibbons, a Seattle resident, and a volunteer member of the Aviation Team of 350 Seattle, a
group that works for climate justice.
The Port’s Office of Environment & Sustainability is working very hard to make us the greenest port in
North America. As I understand it, they are trying to send market signals so that 10% of aviation fuel
uploaded will be sustainable. They are hoping this will come from Washington State, which I totally
support because we’ve got no right to ask other countries to disrupt their land use and social structure
just so we can fly.
But that’s not going to be enough. Your target is an 80% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2050, and
you are planning for a doubling of air traffic. The math just doesn’t pencil out. You’d need 90% of the fuel
to be non carbon, not 10%, if you want to double the flights and have a net drop of 80%. Not possible!
There is just no way to have 90% of the aviation fuel be non carbon in 30 years.
You must come up with a better plan. The only one I know that will work is to cut aviation by 80%.
Sincerely,
Laura Gibbons