Climate Leadership in the San Diego Region
Telling the story of local climate planning and highlighting the power of energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
About Us
The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative's (Climate Collaborative) mission is to connect the region to advance climate change solutions and mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. By bringing the region together we imagine a region that is prosperous and resilient.
This story map synthesizes data and information from Climate Collaborative member entities and provides an online tool to develop capacity and recognize and highlight regional climate leadership.
The development of this story map has been supported by the San Diego Regional Energy Partnership (SDREP) . SDREP is a utility ratepayer-funded collaboration of local governments, organizations and nonprofits that aims to support cities in the San Diego region with advancing energy efficiency in homes and buildings.
The San Diego Region
Situated between the Pacific Ocean in the west, the desert in the east and with the United States/Mexico border to the south, San Diego is defined by its unique natural environment.
Image: Surfers enter the pacific ocean
The region is home to 3.3 million people with 19 local governments (18 cities and the County of San Diego). These local jurisdictions all have a key role to play in addressing climate change and protecting our region's quality of life.
Image: Road through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Significant changes are anticipated in the region's climate over the coming decades. Rising temperatures and more variable rainfall will contribute to increasing threats such as coastal flooding and wildfires. Recognizing these threats, and cognizant of the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to minimize more extreme impacts for future generations, the region and jurisdictions are taking action.
Climate Planning
Climate planning takes place in many ways and on many levels.
Regional Planning
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) prepares and updates a Regional Plan every four years, which contains several elements. The Sustainable Communities Strategy is one such element, required by state law, to show how development patterns and our transportation system will work together to reduce GHG emissions from passenger vehicles. San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan (2015) is a long-term blueprint for a sustainable future for the San Diego region.
The Regional Plan and its associated Environmental Impact Report that shows how the region would exceed the reduction targets for 2020 and 2035, as well as includes a longer 2050-time horizon. A bold new vision for the 2021 Regional Plan is anticipated for completion in late 2021.
SANDAG has collaborated with local agency staff and leading climate planning experts to prepare the Regional Climate Action Planning Framework (ReCAP) . ReCAP is a regionally-consistent technical framework that identifies best practices and guidance for preparing, implementing, and monitoring climate action plans (CAPs).
The SANDAG Roadmap Program has been providing climate action planning technical support to its member agencies since 2016. The ReCAP is used to inform the climate action planning services for local jurisdictions .
Jurisdictional Planning
Climate Action Plans (CAPs) are an important tool to quantify local level emissions and mitigate climate change. CAPs also streamline GHG reporting requirements for local governments.
Image: Climate Action Planning Process. Source: SANDAG
Click on a city to find out more about it's CAP.
CAPs in the region utilize a range of strategies, goals and actions to reduce GHGs emissions in areas including :
- Electricity and Natural Gas
- Water
- On and Off Road Transportation
- Waste
- Carbon Sequestration
Climate Change Mitigation
The California State Government has committed to:
- Reducing its GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 (SB32)
- Requiring 60% of electricity to come from renewable supplies by 2030 and 100% of electricity to come from carbon-free sources by 2045 (SB100)
- Doubling the energy efficiency of natural gas and electricity end uses by 2030 from a 2015 baseline (SB350)
The pathway to achieving these targets involves a combination of renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal) and improved energy efficiency.
The central idea is to reduce energy use as much as possible (this is recognized as the most cost effective method to reduce GHG emissions) and then meet remaining energy needs with renewables (avoided GHG emissions).
What is Energy Efficiency?
Energy efficiency is the reduction of energy (in this case of electricity and natural gas) from improvements in appliance efficiency. Appliances range from household equipment, to the building itself.
In contrast, energy conservation is about reducing energy use through behavior modifications (for example turning off lights, computer monitors etc. when not in use)
Learn more about this difference here
Recent national estimates suggest that scaling up energy efficiency initiatives could halve GHG emissions by 2050.
Regional Energy Efficiency
Our jurisdictions have a key role to play in increasing energy efficiency in the San Diego Region. Through regulations on building codes and land use, and by reducing their own municipal energy use, jurisdictions can influence energy efficiency.
SANDAG has been providing energy engineering technical support to its member agencies since 2010. The SANDAG Roadmap Program provides no-cost energy assessments and energy management plans, or “Energy Roadmaps” for local jurisdictions.
Businesses and organizations across the region can also save money, reduce their GHG emissions and improve resilience by focusing on energy efficiency.
The chart on the right, from the Encinitas CAP , compares the relative contribution of each CAP strategy and federal and state regulations to the overall emissions reduction target in 2020 and 2030.
CAP Energy Efficiency Measures
An analysis of the local government CAPs in the San Diego region highlights that just about all local government's have some energy efficiency measures in their CAPs.
Residential and municipal retrofits were the most common energy efficiency measures as of February 2020.
Hover over a city name to see the types of energy efficiency measures they are using in their CAP.
Mapping Energy Efficiency
The number of energy efficiency measures in each jurisdiction's CAP differs significantly across the region.
Click on a city in the map to see a list of their energy efficiency measures.
Next steps for this analysis:
- Connect GHG emission reductions to energy efficiency measures
Mapping Local Climate Ordinances that Surpass State Codes
Local governments are able to enact ordinances that meet or exceed the California State energy codes, often referred to as "reach codes".
This map highlights those local jurisdictions that have ordinances linked to their CAPs that surpass the California Building Energy Efficiency Standard (Title 24, Part 6) and Green Building Standard (Title 24, Part 11).
These jurisdictions are important to highlight because they are utilizing ordinances to tailor codes to local conditions while also demonstrating and encouraging leadership on climate action.
Click on a green city to learn more about their ordinances.
Recognizing that local ordinances often group all energy related topics together, this map includes ordinances on the following: :
- Energy conservation
- Energy benchmarking
- Electric vehicles
- Renewable energy/water heating
For more information on reach codes and to see what is happening across the state, visit https://localenergycodes.com/ .
Energy Efficiency Initiatives in the Region
We're building a map of energy efficiency projects and case studies in San Diego County to highlight some of the exciting work that is happening in the region.
Click to on a colored dot in the map learn more about each project.
Do you want to have your energy efficiency project showcased?
Fill out this quick form and we'll add it to our map.
Want to learn more?
This Story Map is brought to you by the Climate Collaborative with support from San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E).
This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by San Diego Gas & Electric Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission
