Environmental Stewardship: Difference between revisions

== Climate Policy ==

Over the last decade, the county has become increasingly focused on passing climate policy. Due to it's coastal location, City researchers have projected climate change will cause significant landscape changes in San Diego<ref name=":2">https://www.sandiego.gov/sustainability/resilience/climateresilientsd</ref>.

=== Climate Action Plan ===

Following a failed expansion in 2018, the 2022 update to the Sustainability and Mobility Departments' Climate Action Plan (CAP) was unanimously approved by the City Council on August 2nd, 2022<ref name=":0">https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/08-02-22_climate_action_plan_approved_by_city_council_news_release.pdf</ref><ref name=":4">https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/sustainability/climateactionplan.html</ref><ref>https://www.sandiego.gov/sustainability</ref>. Described as "the most aggressive climate action plan in California" by the San Diego Tribune, the plan detailed a series of ambitious strategies to reach the cities goal of net-zero emissions by 2035-2045<ref name=":0" /><ref>https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-gloria-mayor-announce-20190109-story.html</ref>. The 2022 CAP seeks to establish foundational changes in the form of policy while encouraging private entities to make climate-conscious decisions<ref>https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/draft_climate_action_implementation_plan_022823.pdf</ref>.

# Acclimatization to changes in climate<ref>https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/final_july_2016_cap.pdf</ref><ref name=":4" />

===== Decarbonization =====

As part of the 2022 CAP draft, the City plans on expanding the Polystyrene Foam and Single Use Plastics Ordinance to eliminate single use materials and support sustainability. The 2022 CAP proposes partnering with local composting facilities such as Miramar Greenergy to increase the quantity and quality of compost product to achieve it's goal of 90% waste diversion rate by 2035<ref name=":1" />.

By 2035, San Diego County will attempt to restore 700 acres of salt marsh land and other forms of wetland, producing an expected greenhouse gas emissions decrease of 821 MT CO2e. In addition, the City seeks to plant more trees in urban environments, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and increasing air quality for residents<ref name=":1" />.

Strategy 6, new to the Climate Action Plan, is broadly defined as an exploratory strategy to identify further opportunities to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Assuming strategies 1-5 reach their projections, the City still needs to reduce annual emissions by 391,000 MT CO2e to reach the 2030 GHG reductions target. Before the next update to the CAP, the City will investigate opportunities to electrify construction, strengthen bonds with organizations and local industry, and expedite city processes in implementing CAP recommendations<ref name=":1" />.

The Climate Action Plan has been met with mixed responses by the public. Business groups have argued that it does too much at the expense of local industry<ref name=":3">https://voiceofsandiego.org/2023/03/09/san-diego-business-groups-balk-at-citys-new-climate-policy-guide/</ref>, while environmental activists have claimed it isn't doing enough to reach it's goal of net-zero emissions<ref>https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2023/03/02/environmental-activists-want-more-from-san-diegos-climate-action-implementation-plan</ref>. Councilman Raul Campillo has responded, saying the problem of climate change, "is like inventing calculus and probably just as hard"<ref name=":3" />.

=== Climate Resilient SD ===

# Wildfires<ref name=":2" />

San Diego is known as a "biodiversity hotspot", with the greatest diversity of plants and animals of any county in the continental United States. As the county has developed, it has also become the home of the largest quantity of plants and animals threatened with extinction<ref>[https://earthdiscovery.org/Biodiversity-Conservation#:~:text=San%20Diego%20is%20known%20as,extinction%20anywhere%20in%20the%20country. https://earthdiscovery.org/Biodiversity-Conservation#:~:text=San%20Diego%20is%20known%20as,extinction%20anywhere%20in%20the%20country.]</ref>. Several policies have been introduced under the Biodiverse SD initiative to protect and preserve it's biological richness<ref name=":5">[https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/work/biodiversity#:~:text=The%20Multiple%20Species%20Conservation%20Program,jurisdictions%20participating%20in%20the%20MSCP. https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/work/biodiversity#:~:text=The%20Multiple%20Species%20Conservation%20Program,jurisdictions%20participating%20in%20the%20MSCP.]</ref>.

Vernal pools are a unique temporary wetland in California with tremendous importance to a number of species of plants and animals. Most of the vernal pools in San Diego have been destroyed as a result of agricultural and urban development<ref>https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Plants/Vernal-Pools</ref>. As a result, several species that rely on vernal pools have become threatened or endangered. The Vernal Pool Habitat Conversion Plan provides protections meant to preserve the shrinking habitat, stimulate growth, and save reliant species from extinction in California. The San Diego fairy shrimp, Riverside fairy shrimp, California Orcutt grass, and San Diego button-celery are just a few of the endangered species listed in the Vernal Pool HCP that are not covered by any other environmental protections<ref name=":5" />. The city of San Diego provides a Vernal Pools Interactive Map<ref>https://webmaps.sandiego.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d04d9b6e46fc43cf998f46d9018c04e3</ref> to find the locations of the vernal pools left in San Diego.