FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2021
Media Contact:
Rachel Davis, Communications Director/Press Secretary, Office of Mayor Liccardo, 408.712.9149, rachel.davis@sanjoseca.gov
SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced today that the the City of San José will pledge to go carbon neutral by the end of the decade, the latest in a series of major initiatives by city leaders to address the worsening climate crisis. San José will become the largest city in the United States to have set the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
The city council will hold a study session today at 1:30 p.m. to vote on the pledge. Mayor Liccardo and Councilmembers Jimenez (D2), Peralez (D3), and Davis (D6) proposed a framework to reach the goal of carbon neutrality that included aggressively pursuing regional, state, federal, and philanthropic funding, an increase in focus on reduction of transportation emissions and furthering the priorities of Climate Smart San Jose.
“San Jose continues to lead the nation in prioritizing the fight for our planet,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “We have the unique opportunity today to take bolder action to create a better future for ourselves--and more importantly our children. I am proud to join my colleagues in advocating for local climate action.”
In recent years, California’s five largest wildfires in state history have burned more than 3.2 million acres, destroyed 3,619 structures, killed hundreds of people and affected the health of millions with toxic smoke. 2018 California wildfires alone resulted in 106 deaths, and the resulting smoke killed 3,652 residents.
Carbon neutrality means having net zero GHG emissions in a given year. This includes emissions from fuel, grid-supplied energy, and the treatment of waste generated within City boundaries. San Jose’s pledge reflects the city’s latest actions to combat the growing urgency of climate change. The last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, released in August, underscored the need for significant action to blunt rising global temperatures. The report found that human-caused warming has resulted in the highest global temperatures in the last 125,000 years; caused more extreme heat, weather and droughts; and set in motion far-reaching environmental changes.
The City continues to be a national leader for climate action:
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Climate Smart San José, approved in 2018, is one of the first climate action plans in the United States to align with the greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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The City launched San José Clean Energy (SJCE), California’s largest single-jurisdiction community choice energy program, community-wide in 2019. SJCE has invested nearly $1 billion in new renewable energy and battery storage resources that will come online by the end of 2022.
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San José passed a reach code in 2019 that encourages building electrification and energy efficiency and requires solar and electric vehicle readiness for newly constructed buildings.
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The City banned natural gas infrastructure in all new construction starting in 2021.
“We are meeting the moment and accelerating our progress toward carbon neutrality,” said Kerrie Romanow, Chief sustainability Officer and Director of San José Environmental Services Department. “There is no more time to wait. Our community needs urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect public health and improve quality of life.”
The City will continue to work with partners and evaluate the resources and emergency actions necessary to achieve its carbon neutrality goal. The goal will be incorporated into Climate Smart San José along with strategies based upon recommendations and analysis from stakeholders and experts. The path to carbon neutrality will be guided by a concern for disadvantaged communities that are most vulnerable to the environmental and health impacts of climate change.
For more information on Climate Smart San José, visit the City’s Climate Smart webpage.
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