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Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies

The 2023 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy Update summarizes the key policies, regulations, and programs that the City has implemented to achieve its ambitious climate action goals, consistent with its 2021 Climate Action Plan.

In 2010, the San Francisco Planning Department published the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Air Quality Guidelines. This served to evaluate the air quality impacts of the projects and plans proposed for the San Francisco Bay Area according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) thresholds of significance. The report was a compilation of implementation efforts to address the strategies outlined in the 2004 Climate Action Plan.

The Planning Department revised the Strategy in 2017 to reflect updates to the City’s Climate Action Plan, emissions inventory, and measures to address greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, the San Francisco Department of the Environment published the San Francisco Climate Action Plan, and in 2023, it released the City's greenhouse gas emissions inventory (with data through 2020).

The 2023 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy Update serves as the latest update to the policies, plans and regulatory requirements that have been implemented locally, regionally and on a state-wide basis, and provides a summary of the City's progress toward meeting those targets. See the Supporting Info tab for details.

In 2021, the City of San Francisco established the following greenhouse gas emission reduction targets into the San Francisco Environmental Code:

  • By 2030, a reduction in Sector-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions of at least 61% compared to 1990 levels
  • By 2030, a reduction in Consumption-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions to 30 mtCo2e per household or less, equivalent to a 40% reduction compared to 1990 levels
  • By 2040, achievement of Net Zero Sector-Based Greenhouse Gas Emission by reducing such emissions by at least 90% compared to 1990 levels and sequestering any residual emissions, and
  • By 2050, a reduction in Consumption-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions to 10 mtCo2e per household or less, equivalent to an 80% reduction compared to 1990 levels