Climate Action Campaign unveiled the inaugural edition of their Climate Plan Report Card on Dec. 7, which grades the climate action plans, or lack thereof, of all 19 San Diego municipalities in the region.
Only the City of San Diego – who received national accolades when it adopted a binding 100 percent clean energy Climate Action Plan last year – earned a gold designation. Zero cities earned a silver grade, while Del Mar, San Marcos and Carlsbad all took home the bronze designation for their climate action plans. Read the full Climate Action Plan Report Card at www.climateactioncampaign.org.
“The City of San Diego continues to lead the way with its groundbreaking Climate Action Plan and is honored to be recognized as the new standard for other cities to follow,” said Cody Hooven, chief sustainability officer at the City of San Diego. “In the year since the plan was formally adopted, we’ve already begun to make significant investments that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a cleaner tomorrow for our neighborhoods.”
Climate Action Campaign published the report card to serve as a tool for cities, advocates, and the public to understand the best practices for protecting families’ future from climate change. By enhancing transparency and accountability, the report card seeks to incentivize local cities to take action through friendly competition and collaboration.
“In the face of a new president threatening to dismantle federal progress on climate and clean energy, leadership from local governments is more important than ever,” said Nicole Capretz, executive director of Climate Action Campaign. “We hope our report card will inform the public about what their city is doing to slash carbon pollution and protect their kids’ future. There are 19 local governments in our region, yet only seven had gradable climate plans. Our goal is to spur even more cities to take action to safeguard our quality of life.”
The first edition of the Climate Plan Report Card assigns points and gives grades based on the goals and strategies contained in each plan. As CAPs become a mainstay throughout our region, future editions of the report card will measure how effectively local governments are actually implementing their plans.
Here’s what local leaders are saying:
“Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gasses tomorrow, there will still be significant Sea Level Rise (SLR) affecting our region over the next several decades. It is imperative that we address and prepare for those changes in ways that preserve our quality of life and the very resources that draw us to San Diego, like our beaches and waves. The earlier we start planning, the more options there will be. The challenges are real and we hope that cities will address them proactively and responsibly though robust Climate Action Plans” said Julia Chunn, Surfrider San Diego.
“The implementation of Climate Action Plans is vital to combat climate change, protect our children’s health, promote an innovative and green economy, and above all – invest in our most vulnerable communities historically impacted by pollution. We must ensure that the focus is on equity so that every child, regardless of their zip code, has a better future with clean air, clean energy, and clean jobs” said San Diego District 9 City Councilwoman-elect Georgette Gómez.
“Climate Action Campaign’s report card shows San Diego is a national leader, however, a substantial amount of hard work is needed to keep raising the bar throughout our whole region,” said Daniel Sullivan, founder and president of Sullivan Solar Power. “Locally, solar is contributing over $1 billion in economic activity each year and is serving more than 100,000 rooftop solar customers in San Diego. We will continue working with industry partners, government officials, and groups like Climate Action Campaign to lead a solar energy revolution that systematically unplugs entire communities from outdated fossil fuels.”