San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) Doomed? Not So Fast!
by Joni Eisen
Climate Action in the City
The COP 30 UN Climate Summit concluded without a roadmap to phase out coal, oil and gas. The current US administration is aggressively increasing pollution and emissions in pursuit of more wealth for big corporations and far-right cronies. Now more than ever, it’s up to local jurisdictions to keep up the fight for a livable planet.
In streamlining City government and reforming the Charter, the mayor must prioritize climate goals. The recent and upcoming SF Environment Department (SFE) budget cuts will significantly and adversely impact the Department’s ability to implement the City’s Climate Action Plan at a time when local climate action is more important than ever. However, the mayor’s current focus is on restructuring City government to be more efficient and accountable – and this would necessitate reforming SF’s weirdly long, complicated and arguably outdated City Charter. That, in turn, would open up an opportunity to create a CAP-focused, authorizing entity with teeth to oversee and enforce climate goals in every City agency – bypassing the constant fight over General Fund leftovers, and exploring other ways to finance implementation of SF’s comprehensive, detailed Climate Action Plan.
Learn more and sign the petition to the mayor here. The petition will be delivered to Mayor Lurie, along with a letter signed by San Francisco Tomorrow and 30+ other local organizations, at a meeting with local climate leaders.
The last major charter update was 30 years ago, and more than 100 charter amendments have been passed since then. Changing the smallest detail in the charter requires going back to the voters with yet another ballot measure. Mayor Lurie and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman will soon convene a charter reform task force. See below for further opportunities to exert your influence in
support of CAP goals. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already, please sign the petition. Having an entity with actual enforcing power, directly responsible to the mayor, would complement the Commission on the Environment’s and SFE’s amazing work researching and developing the ideas and strategies in the CAP.
Urge the Commission Streamlining Task Force NOT to weaken and ultimately destroy the Commission on the Environment! Yes, SF has too many commissions. That’s why the voters passed Prop E in 2024, establishing the Commission Streamlining Task Force. This past September, the Task Force voted to recommend demoting the Commission on the Environment, responsible for the oversight and management of SF Environment Department, from a governance body to an advisory body that will sunset after three years. While many commissions may have become superfluous or inactive, this Commission has not. Please urge the Task Force to keep this vital commission, before they meet December 12th.
As the only public forum dedicated to climate and environmental issues in San Francisco, the Commission on the Environment is responsible for significant environmental and climate policymaking and citywide coordination among departments. Weakening and then destroying it reveals to the world San Francisco’s declining commitment to addressing the climate crisis that the City and its residents face.
Friday December 12, 10am at City Hall room 263: the Commission Streamlining Task Force Special Meeting to discuss their final recommendations. Participate:
In person at the meeting. Agenda details will be posted here the
Monday before the meeting, including other public comment options.
Online: WebEx meeting or phone
Written comments regarding the subject of the meeting will be made part of the official public record and will be brought to the attention of the Task Force.
• Email your own comments to CommissionStreamlining@sfgov.org
by 5pm the Thursday prior to the Task Force meeting.
• Or you can use this handy letter-writing tool and include the
Mayor and Board of Supervisors.
Reducing Deadly Air Pollution in the entire Bay Area
In 2023, the Bay Area Air District (“Air District”) established strong standards to reduce deadly air pollution from the use of fossil fuels in homes and buildings. The regulations create zero nitrogen oxide (NOx) limits on new appliances and are set to start taking effect, in 2027 for hot water heaters and 2029 for furnaces, with an end to the sale of air-polluting heaters.
As the implementation deadlines are approaching, the Air District has been working to add some common-sense exemptions to protect low-income households – but the gas industry and its allies are working overtime to use the reopening of the rules as an opportunity to roll them back entirely. We can’t let that happen. These rules are some of the strongest tools San Francisco can rely on to make substantial progress toward achieving the City’s 2040 net-zero GHG emissions goal. Public comment ended Nov 24, but you can follow the implementation process on the Air District’s website.
