Climate Change Action Plan
In 2006 San Rafael was one of the early signatories to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing the City to working towards meeting the goals of the Kyoto Protocol. The City Council adopted San Rafael’s first San Rafael Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) on April 20, 2009, which was developed by a 14-member Green Ribbon Committee along with volunteer subject matter experts. It set goals of a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2020, and an ambitious 80% reduction by 2050 to meet targets set by the State of California.
As of 2019 the City met the State target of 15% reduction of GHG's as well as our local 25% stretch goal. Meantime, the State issued new interim targets for 2030: 40% reduction of GHG’s below 1990 levels. In 2017 the City convened a 20-member Climate Action Working Group to revise the CCAP toward these new 2030 targets. The result is Climate Change Action Plan 2030, which was approved by City Council on May 20, 2019. 99% of our emissions come from residents and businesses in San Rafael. So please visit our new CCAP 2030 website, which features key actions we all need to take if we are going to meet this daunting but doable challenge.
Quarterly community forums on the implementation of the Climate Action Plan are generally held the 3rd Thursday of the month each January, April, July, and October. Meeting info is posted on the City Calendar ahead of time, and recordings can be found on our YouTube page.
Subscribe to our email distribution list to keep informed! Choose General News and Updates, and it will take you to a page where you can select Sustainability and Green Initiatives.
Sign up for Resilient Neighborhoods and join a Climate Action Team. It's a free, fun, and impactful program to really accelerate your personal carbon footprint reduction efforts.
Learn more about actions you can take, and support you can get, at our Climate Action website and the Green Change community in Marin.