Regional Decarbonization Framework

A Partnership to Move the Region to Zero Carbon Emissions

The global climate is changing and nowhere are the effects felt more acutely than at the local level. The growing economic, social, and environmental impacts associated with a changing climate are causing immediate and long-term damages to our communities, ecosystems, food production, health, safety, jobs, businesses, and our overall quality of life in the San Diego region.

On January 27, 2021, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors approved the development of a Framework for a regional zero-carbon sustainability plan in partnership with the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and the University of San Diego (USD) Energy Policy Initiatives Center. The Framework will provide science-based pathways to achieve zero carbon in the region.

In addition, the Framework will foster regional collaboration between public agencies, universities, schools, business, labor, communities, and tribes, as well as leverage resources at the state and federal levels.

The County is proposing a three-pronged regional approach to lower our carbon footprint to zero emissions:

• Zero emissions of carbon dioxide;
• Reduction of “super-pollutants” such as black carbon (or “soot”) and ground-level ozone (the main ingredient of “smog”), much of which are directly harmful to human health; and
• Drawdown of atmospheric pollution through technological and natural means. Nature-based methods for carbon capture and storage include climate-smart practices in forestry and agriculture.

The impacts of climate change in the form of extreme weather events are disproportionately affecting our lowest-income communities and workers. Hence, local policy measures that decarbonize the economy are intended to save lives, benefit underserved and frontline communities, create high-quality green jobs, and ensure economic resilience. The Framework will intentionally address the gaps that exist between the decarbonization goals and existing realities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities in terms of air quality, infrastructure, jobs and housing.