Photo: RL0919 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In the mid-2010s, climate groups and community organizations in San Diego pushed the city to adopt binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The result was one of the most closely watched local climate plans in the country.
The 2015 plan
The San Diego City Council adopted the city’s Climate Action Plan on Dec. 15, 2015, under Mayor Kevin Faulconer. It set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2035 from a 2010 baseline, along with a target of 100% renewable electricity citywide by 2035. That goal led to the creation of San Diego Community Power, a community choice energy provider that now supplies electricity to most customers in the city and several neighboring cities.
The 2022 update
In 2022, the city adopted its first comprehensive update, signed into law by Mayor Todd Gloria. The new plan commits the city to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, with interim targets, and focuses on:
- decarbonizing buildings and electricity,
- making walking, biking and transit easier, especially near transit stations,
- reducing waste, including organic waste collection, and
- expanding the urban tree canopy and natural areas.
Tracking progress
The city publishes annual monitoring reports on emissions and implementation. Transportation remains the largest source of emissions, which is why land-use and transit decisions are so central to the plan.
Sources
- City of San Diego: Climate Action Plan
- Mayor Gloria signs Climate Action Plan update into law
- San Diego Community Power
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