Momentum is building among a broad coalition of environmental and governmental groups in support of the city of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan, an ambitious proposal to get to 100 percent clean energy use by 2035 through transit, walking and biking.
The plan is a package of policies intended to benefit San Diego’s environment and economy. Some believe it will help create new jobs in the renewable energy industry, improve public health and air quality, enhance water quality, more efficiently use existing resources, increase local energy production, improve quality of life and save taxpayer money.
The plan clearly identifies steps the City of San Diego can take to achieve the 2035 targets. That list includes crafting an ordinance that requires developers to install conduits for solar and electric vehicle charging stations in new construction; creating a renewable energy program; developing a zero waste plan; and changing policy to have a majority of the City’s fleet be electric vehicles.
On Nov. 30, City Councilmembers David Alvarez and Todd Gloria were joined by an alliance of community, business, labor, public health and environmental organizations at a press conference to support the plan. Later that same day, the plan unanimously passed Council’s Environment Committee. It is expected to go before the full City Council this December for adoption.
“This plan strikes the right balance between protecting our environment and growing our economy,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer when he released a draft of the plan for public review in September of 2014. “San Diego’s environmental and business communities are once again taking the exceptional step of joining together in support of this plan because we all agree that clean technology, renewable energy and economic growth are vital to our city’s future. We’re going to hand down to our children a San Diego that is cleaner than it was when we received it.”
“This plan positions San Diego as the national leader in climate action by powering our lives with 100 percent locally made clean energy that ensures our air is clean and our water is healthy,” said Nicole Capretz, executive director of the Climate Action Campaign, a climate watchdog group. “We have embraced a yes-we-can attitude to protect the people and places we love from the dangers of a changing climate.”
“This plan demonstrates that San Diego is a progressive leader in addressing climate change,” said Gloria. “We value our people and our environment enough to commit to aggressive, measurable outcomes.”
“As a councilmember representing our coastal communities, I have long advocated for the City of San Diego to adopt a Climate Action Plan to help protect our environment for decades to come,” said District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner.
The Climate Action Plan can be viewed at sandiego.gov.