After more than a decade of challenges, local environmental groups are rejoicing after the Board of Supervisors approved a new climate action plan this week that they say will keep the county able in slashing emissions.
The climate plan ed Wednesday along party lines will be used as a blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at county facilities and in unincorporated areas to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.
Wednesday’s action marks a significant reversal in fortunes for the board, which spent nearly a decade defending previous versions of its climate plan against lawsuits from environmental organizations.
“This was the biggest environmental victory in the last quarter-century at the county of San Diego,” said Peter Andersen, former chair of the local Sierra Club chapter and current vice chair of the club’s conservation committee.
The new document includes 70 action items not only to reduce emissions but also protect public health and safety, the environment and improve quality of life. It aims to reduce emissions across five sectors — energy, water and wastewater, solid waste, the built environment and transportation, and agriculture and conservation.
The plan will be carried out by nine county departments through programs, policies and incentives expected to cost abut $650 million over five years — primarily existing programs, plus $156 million in expanded and new ones.
“The adoption of this climate action plan prioritizes equity for frontline communities that have long suffered from environmental racism and unjust policies,” said board Chair Nora Vargas. “By focusing on the health and safety of our most impacted residents, we have a unique opportunity to address historic disparities, improve air quality, and create a more sustainable future for everyone.”
Among the top changes from previous iterations is a commitment to shift to electric-powered buildings in county jurisdictions, as well as a new program already in the works with San Diego Community Power that aims to achieve 90 percent renewable energy for unincorporated areas by 2030.
But the change that Nicole Capretz, founder and executive director of the Climate Action Campaign, said her nonprofit is proudest of is a new county commitment to dedicate at least 20 percent of climate action plan investments into historically underserved communities most impacted by climate change.
Parts of north El Cajon, north Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and Sweetwater are identified in the county’s general plan as communities with higher exposure to industrial hazardous waste and air pollution than other areas of the county.
The effects of climate change are worse for lower-income communities, making targeted improvements for these communities all the more important, Capretz explained.
“Finally, we’re here,” Capretz said. “It’s ed, we think it’s strong, and now we’ve got a watchdog. … The fact that they’re committed to it and are developing policies and programs to facilitate success is really important.”
The Climate Action Campaign was one of the nonprofits that had successfully argued in a series of court challenges that the county had failed to comply with state environmental law.
Those challenges ultimately in 2020 led a new board — composed of three new and a new Democratic majority — to scrap previous versions of the climate plan entirely.
In summer 2021, the board directed county staff to develop a new climate action plan that was legally enforceable and didn’t use carbon offset credits, which let developers pay for releasing excessive emissions rather than reduce them.
County staff spent the last three years redoing its environmental impact report and garnering public , with hundreds of meetings, events, workshops and more.
Meanwhile, the county kept working to conserve open space, plant trees and expand residential infill solar use. Its annual report last year found that in 2023 alone the county had reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an equivalent of about 260,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or 29 million gallons of gasoline.
In a separate but related effort, the county also partnered with cities, school districts and academic experts to create a regional decarbonization framework, a sustainability effort that extends to all cities in the county as well.
Now, the newly implemented climate action plan will include a streamlined process for evaluating emissions and give developers a clearer pathway to comply with it and state environmental law.
At Wednesday’s meeting, nearly all of the more than 100 people who commented spoke in favor of the plan.
ers said it couldn’t have come soon enough, amid record heat , drought, wildfires, storms and sea-level rise — all of which require coordinated responses.
Many also praised the county’s decision to further analyze what it calls “smart growth alternatives” for housing development requirements in fire-prone rural areas and in areas where people drive a lot.
Developers in recent years have gravitated toward building in more rural areas where land is cheaper and more plentiful — and where fire hazards and driving distances are greater.
After years of court battles, supervisors adopted new housing policies in 2022 to prevent large-scale development in backcountry areas — but the county has made exceptions.
These parameters were why both Republican supervisors, Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond, said they were voting against the plan, which they worried would limit affordable housing development and effectively mean “no growth.”
The new framework will work to identify ways to discourage development in areas with high fire risk and that require a lot of driving while also encouraging development in so-called smart growth areas. The county will also look for long-term options to change zoning or land use in the future.
“It’s kind of a no-brainer in a time when half of California is on fire, to not build in the most fire-prone areas,” said Andersen, the Sierra Club official. “The smart growth plan … reduces fire, reduces traffic, reduces greenhouse gas, preserves open space and preserves endangered species, so it’s just a fabulous set of wins.”
County officials hope to craft plans that will help San Diegans to live near where they work, creating housing while cutting commutes.
But while some environmental groups are overall happy with the county’s commitment, some also worry supervisors’ decision to integrate the policies into future planning efforts — including with the ongoing development of a sustainable land-use framework — could call into question its commitment to the policies in the future.
“It’s complicated,” Capretz said. “It means they kicked the can down the road. This is the initial direction, but it is not final.”
To boost ability and transparency, the climate action plan also includes regular monitoring and tracking with oversight from an environmental justice working group.
