A new online dashboard makes it easy for everyone to track the City of San Diego’s progress on its ambitious environmental goals. The City of San Diego has unveiled its latest Climate Action Plan (CAP) annual report, along with the new Climate Dashboard. While the reduction of greenhouses gases detailed in the annual report are modest so far, it provides a needed overview of the City’s efforts to combat climate change and transition to a sustainable future. 

In order to engage San Diegans in tracking that progress, the Climate Dashboard serves as a central platform for up-to-date data collection and distribution, enabling stakeholders to monitor key metrics and track progress on individual CAP actions. The dashboard includes detailed action pages, task lists and due dates, making goals and implementation progress easy to follow and understand. 

“The climate dashboard is a tremendous tool which enables us to systematically report and make our climate data public,” said Heather Werner, Interim Director of the City’s Sustainability and Mobility Department. “It’s accessible to everyone, and it’s very comprehensive because our plan is so ambitious.” 

The City’s landmark Climate Action Plan established a goal of net-zero greenhouse gases by 2035, committing San Diego to an accelerated trajectory for greenhouse gas reductions. Achieving net-zero emissions will improve air quality as well as the overall quality of life in our community. The CAP contains several strategies for achieving this goal, including decarbonization of the built environment, increasing access to clean and renewable energy, improving mobility and land use, creating a circular economy and clean communities, and ensuring resilient infrastructure and healthy ecosystems. 

This report marks the first annual assessment of the City’s progress since the adoption of the updated 2022 CAP, covering activities through the 2023 calendar year. Many of the actions highlighted in the report set the groundwork for more wide-ranging efforts in the future. 

The strategies included in the CAP report, ranging from enhancing bicycle infrastructure to installing new public electric vehicle charging stations, demonstrate the City’s holistic approach to creating a more sustainable and equitable San Diego. Ongoing efforts to secure substantial grant funding will continue to bolster the City’s capacity to implement critical climate action and sustainability initiatives. 

The goal is not just to meet the CAP targets but to exceed them, ensuring that San Diego serves as a model for other cities worldwide. 

“The goals in our updated CAP underscore our unwavering commitment to creating a sustainable, equitable and resilient future for our city,” said Shelby Rust Buso, the City’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “While the reductions in greenhouse gases represent important progress, they also serve as a reminder of the significant work that lies ahead. Our updated CAP is designed to tackle these challenges head-on, with innovative solutions aimed at accelerating our transition to a low-carbon future.” 

Due primarily to its focus on sustainable energy and alternative transportation, San Diego was recently named the most environmentally sustainable city in the United States by the finance website WalletHub. The site’s annual report took multiple factors into consideration, including environment, transportation, energy sources, lifestyle and policy. 

Also, the city currently generates more than 43% of its electricity from renewable resources, and leads the country in the number of solar panel installations per capita. In addition, the study noted that San Diego leads the country in the number of certified organic farms per capita, and has a variety of “green” policies, including a bike-sharing program, and a ban on plastic bags.