San Diego

Sector: Municipal Government

Population:
>1.25 million people

Carbon Footprint:
> Corporate: 10,643,998 metric tonnes CO₂e (2003)

TARGETS

>15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2010
>Source 50 MW of energy by 2013 using PV generation >15% annual reduction in fuel consumption by city vehicles
>Develop Urban Heat Island Mitigation policy to cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Achievements

>Efficiency improvements to city operations over period 1994-2001 reduced energy use by 144 million KWh, and CO₂ emissions by 89 thousand tonnes
>Photovoltaic installations on city facilities generate 18 MW of power
>22% reduction in corporate CO₂e emissions between 1990 and 2003

Benefits

>$15 million annual energy cost savings

Low Carbon Solutions

Background

Located on the coast at the southern tip of California, San Diego is the 7th largest city in the US. Its population is 1.25 million and growing. San Diego’s location close to the coast, and its high levels of ground level ozone, mean that it could be particularly hard hit by increased sea level rise and increasing temperatures. On January 29, 2002 the San Diego City Council unanimously approved a Sustainable Community Program that established a 15% greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal, engaged the city in International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives’ (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program, and instituted an ad hoc advisory committee of area scientists to assist the city achieve its goals.

The city of San Diego believes that investing in actions and institutionalizing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will bring multiple benefits including: economic competitiveness; improved public health; natural resource protection; and energy cost savings. As well, the city hopes its leadership will motivate similar actions by others.

Communications

Educating young people on the importance of climate change and benefits of taking action is also part of San Diego’s climate strategy. Its Green Schools Program includes: classroom presentations; hands-on experience conducting an energy audit of the school; and community participation that puts into practice what the students have learned.

Partnerships

Realizing that action by local companies could help San Diego meet its 2010 target San Diego is working with 22 different businesses in a Climate Wise-Energy Star® program. The participating businesses are required to publish a corporate policy on energy, establish an energy management team, set performance levels, and increase awareness of energy efficiency among employees.

Renewable Energy

Photovoltaics on San Diego city facilities are currently generating 18 megawatts (MW) of power. Solar panels installed on the city’s Miramar Operations Center have cut CO₂ emissions in an amount equivalent to taking 6000 cars off the road. Pleased with this success, in August 2003 Mayor Dick Murphy announced an aggressive expansion to 50 MW of renewable energy generation by 2013.

Strategies and Targets

Taken together San Diego’s waste, transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energy measures are cutting about 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is almost half way towards its target of a 15% reduction by 2010.

In order to achieve the remaining reductions, San Diego has planned a number of initiatives including: reducing fuel consumption by city vehicles by 15% each year; expanding waste minimization efforts, including development of ordinances for recycling construction and demolition waste; and adopting an environmentally preferable purchasing policy. The city is also establishing an Urban Heat Island Mitigation Policy that will reduce ambient temperatures, air pollution and electricity demand for cooling. The Mayor has a goal to plant 5,000 shade trees per year and switch to light colored materials for roads and roofing.

“We’re almost halfway to our goal of cutting 15 percent of emissions from 1990 figures,” she says. “But now the hard part comes. You can’t put a wall around San Diego. Maybe the elephant sitting in the room here is (the lack of) affordable housing near work. I’m no expert in town planning, but we have to address density, and affordability.”

Transport and Planning

San Diego is a sprawling community with heavy dependence on cars. In 1990, 42% of all greenhouse gas emissions in San Diego came from the transportation sector. The city government’s greatest challenge is to find workable solutions to getting people out of their cars, and promoting less carbon intense forms of transportation.

Demonstrating leadership by example, San Diego has implemented an innovative alternative fuel program through which methane gas from the landfill is converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel over 100 refuse collection trucks. The city has also used a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation technology to optimize refuse truck routes, which combined with the fuel switch has cut nearly 3,000 tons of CO₂ each year. The city’s LNG fueling station is also available for use by the public.

The first thing San Diego city officials talk about when discussing their climate actions is economics. “Actions taken within city operations between 1994 and 2001 have reduced costs by more than $15 million,” says Linda Giannelli Pratt, Manager of the City’s Sustainable Community Program. “Environmental protection and cost efficiencies are not mutually exclusive. When you talk about all the things that we have done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have also reduced cost.”

Waste Management

By far the largest reductions in greenhouse gases have come from waste management measures. The city of San Diego is using landfill gas to generate power, has created an award-winning composting program and diverts waste through citywide curbside recycling and greenwaste collection. The reductions from San Diego’s landfill gas recovery are cutting GHGs by over 700,000 tons each year. The curbside greenwaste program is reducing GHG emissions by over 82,000 tons per year.
San Diego has also retrofitted its Point Loma wastewater treatment plant so that the methane off-gassed from sewage is used to fuel a generator at the plant, and the treated wastewater powers a 1.35 megawatt hydroelectric plant.

Richard L. Hayes