SAN DIEGO — Mayor Todd Gloria praised his Climate Action Plan and its goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 as long overdue and said that failing to act would have monumental impacts.
"The financial cost and human consequences of inaction are almost unimaginable. We must act now," said Gloria at his August 10 signing of the landmark plan.
But a local group that spent years advocating for an updated climate plan says the bill at the point is largely a pie-in-the-sky plan with no mechanisms in place to ensure it is enforced, that deadlines are met, or funding is in place to make it happen.
In a newly filed lawsuit, the Climate Action Campaign looks to change that and force the city to draft a new plan with those enforcement mechanisms that are needed to ensure that plan is followed.
The 2022 [Climate Action Plan (CAP)] is truly an aspirational policy document," reads the lawsuit. "But to achieve its 2030 and 2035 emission targets, and to comply with [the California Environmental Quality Act], the City must do more than adopt lofty goals. It must begin implementation and funding of the CAP now."
Some of the goals of the Mayor's climate plan include converting 45 percent of natural gas customers to electric by 2030, and to 90 percent by 2035. The plan requires the city to fully convert from natural gas by 2035. In order to achieve that goal, the city requires commercial and residential developments to no longer use natural gas as an energy source.
The Mayor's plan also calls for converting city vehicles to electric by 2035 as well as steering people from their cars and onto mass transit or onto their bikes or other pedestrian-friendly modes of transport.
“From wildfires to heat waves, to floods, we see the impacts of climate change all around us. Every level of government must take action on addressing climate change – and with this Climate Action Plan, the City is stepping up to do so,” said Mayor Todd Gloria after signing the plan into law. “This update to the City’s Climate Action Plan means cleaner air and water, local investment and jobs, infrastructure improvements, more safe and convenient mobility options, increased access to green space, and most of all, a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
Members of the Climate Action Campaign agree with Mayor Gloria but they want to see just how the city is going to make that happen, something they say has not been accomplished. They also don't want the city to delay forcing developers to turn to electric power as opposed to natural gas.
“We support the City's Climate Action Plan," said Climate Action Campaign's board president, Patti Larchet. "Our aim is to secure a properly detailed implementation plan with costs and funding that ensures we reach the CAP goals on time and we secure a healthy, safe, equitable, and livable city.”
CBS 8 reached out to the city of San Diego for comment. The story will be updated when the city responds.
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