Written by Michael Palomba
SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata, Rep. Mike Levin, City Councilwomen Barbara Bry and Georgette Gómez, Assemblymembers Todd Gloria and Lorena Gonzalez, and County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher have all been sounding the alarm on the issue of emissions—despite the fact that San Diego has more than achieved its emissions reduction goal for the past 10 years.
Emissions from residents, businesses, and government have been cut by 24 percent over the last decade. That is nine percent better than the official 2020 goal of 15 percent. These fantastic numbers, however, have not stopped those named above from religiously pursuing new taxes, regulations, bans, and more.
The new data was revealed in San Diego’s 2019 Climate Action Plan Annual Report. Total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for 2018 came in at 9,849,000 metric tons; a 3,136,000 metric ton reduction from 2010.
Some other impressive stats revealed by the report include:
- 100 hybrids in municipal fleet
- 64 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations
- 15 percent reduction in residential energy use
- 2.5 percent reduction in municipal energy use
- 14 gallon reduction in daily per capita water use
When releasing the report, Mayor Kevin Faulconer made the following statement:
“Climate action isn’t just a phrase in San Diego — it’s a way of life. The investments we’re making now to protect the environment will pay huge dividends going forward. We’re making solid progress on leaving behind a cleaner San Diego, but we know there is much more work to do and it’s going to take all of us being part of the solution to get where we need to go.”
Cody Hooven, the city’s chief sustainability officer, also released a statement:
“San Diego is demonstrating to the world that we can be a resilient, thriving community in an uncertain climate while improving the quality of life for residents. We are using solar, installing bike lanes and planting trees all in an effort to reach our climate goals.”
