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SF Environment outlines public input and timeline for 2025 Climate Action Plan; equity review shapes revisions
Summary
Department staff summarized public outreach to date, said they received more than 700 comments, and reiterated the targets: 61% reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2040. Staff described how racial and social equity reviews and departmental lead feedback will shape the final draft.
San Francisco Environment staff on Tuesday updated the Commission on the Environment about progress drafting the city’s 2025 Climate Action Plan and described how public comments and an equity review are shaping revisions.
Elizabeth Stamp, senior climate action coordinator, said the department started work on the 2025 plan last fall and has completed an extensive public engagement phase. "We have something over 700 comments in a very, very big spreadsheet that we are now asking the different lead departments... to look at and consider revising those actions based on what we've heard," Stamp said.
Stamp and Cindy Comerford, climate program manager, said the plan retains the city’s overarching targets from the 2021 plan: a 61 percent emissions reduction by 2030 (from 1990 levels) and net-zero emissions by 2040. Comerford told commissioners the most recent city emissions inventory available (2022) shows roughly a 48 percent reduction compared with 1990.
Staff described how the racial and social equity review process assessed potential harms and benefits of proposed actions on communities identified as environmental justice priorities. Stamp said the review asks lead departments to identify negative impacts or opportunities to accelerate benefits for those communities and that SFE staff provide recommendations to reduce harms and increase benefits.
Public input and the equity review are producing themes staff said they will fold into the draft plan: neighborhood-scale community-led solutions (local solar and batteries, compost hubs, reuse), permitting and process reforms to reduce barriers, right-to-repair and circular-economy measures, and green-job strategies targeted to underserved areas.
The department expects to publish a full draft for public review and bring it to commissions this year, with a goal of finalizing and publishing the plan by the end of 2025. Staff also said they are updating Chapter 9 of the Environment Code so the code and the plan align before the plan’s finalization.
Why it matters: The Climate Action Plan sets sector-specific actions to meet the city’s legally stated targets and guides investments, permitting priorities and program design. Staff emphasized that implementation will require funding and clarified that delays in work often stem from resource constraints.
Clarifying details: Staff reported more than 700 written comments captured through events, surveys and emails; the latest emissions inventory referenced was 2022 (48% reduction from 1990); the plan target remains a 61% reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2040. Staff said the plan will include chapters on innovation, governance and finance and that the draft will be shared with commissions prior to final publication.
