San Francisco Announces Greenhouse Gas Emissions Remain Down by 48% Since 1990

San Francisco, CA - Today, Mayor London N. Breed released findings of San Francisco's 2022 Sector-based Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory that show the City's climate efforts are paying off. The results reveal that since 1990, the City's overall emissions are down 48% and per capita emissions are down 53% below 1990 levels, despite the city experiencing a population growth of 12% within that same time.

While an increase in emissions was expected as San Francisco's economic and social activity rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, today's announcement reveals emission levels instead remained flat, reemphasizing the continued success of climate policies adopted under Mayor Breed's Climate Action Plan.

"Today's announcement is a testament to our continued effort to make San Francisco a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable city for all of our residents," said Mayor Breed. "From investing in housing and public transit to expanding access to clean and renewable energy, our City is leading the way and proving to cities around the world that you can adopt bold climate policies while growing your economy. There is still a lot of work to be done, but together, we can ensure that San Francisco continues to lead the fight against climate change."

The inventory, issued every two years by the San Francisco Environment Department, measures emission levels to ensure the City can track ambitious reduction targets and adjust or identify additional innovative strategies to meet San Francisco's goal to reduce emissions 60% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to achieve net zero by 2040. The report categorizes emissions into six sectors: Transportation, Buildings, Landfilled Organics, Municipal, Agriculture, and Wastewater. Even though economic activity and the population of the City have grown substantially since 1990, all sectors-except agriculture and wastewater, which account for less than 3% of total emissions-show robust declines from 1990 levels.

"We anticipated a temporary dip in emissions due to the stay-at-home health orders issued during the pandemic," said Tyrone Jue, Director, San Francisco Environment Department. "However, the real triumph is that as San Francisco's economy continues to rebound, our commitment to sustainability has not wavered. An increasing number of people are contributing to a greener City by riding public transportation, walking or biking, and by being more mindful with their waste. They're also opting for 100% clean energy through services like CleanPowerSF. Together demonstrating that economic vitality and environmental sustainability go hand in hand."

The continued implementation of Mayor Breed's Climate Action plan and San Francisco's overall decarbonization policies have been critical drivers of these reductions. The City has been increasing low-carbon trips, advocating for vehicle electrification and expanding curbside charging, constructing all-electric buildings, supporting existing buildings with replacement of gas-burning appliances, and ensuring San Francisco runs on clean, renewable energy through its CleanPowerSF and Hetch Hetchy Power programs. San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) is also ranked as the greenest transportation fleet in the U.S., providing an all-electric and 100% zero-emissions.

Mayor Breed's Continued Environmental Progress

Throughout her tenure at City Hall, Mayor Breed has championed groundbreaking environmental legislation that has helped secure the City's position as a global environmental leader. In 2021, Mayor Breed released an updated Climate Action Plan with 174 implementable actions to achieve a bold new goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Uniquely embedded in this plan is a framework that centers social and racial equity to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on the City's vulnerable populations and ensure environmental benefits to all residents.

Today's announcement comes as San Francisco recently received a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's Government-to-Government program to support the City's environmental justice work, enabling San Francisco to provide funding for community-led activities that lead to positive environmental or public health impacts in communities that have been disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.

As former Supervisor, Mayor Breed successfully passed the strongest Styrofoam ban in the country and legislation to create the City's first prescription drug take-back program. Additionally, in 2013 staunchly advocated for the launch of CleanPowerSF, which helps provide electricity to 380,000 homes and businesses and 100% greenhouse gas-free electricity to critical municipal services such as Muni, San Francisco International Airport, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital as well as some new commercial and residential developments, through the City's public power utility, Hetch Hetchy Power. Together, Hetch Hetchy Power and CleanPowerSF supply more than 70% of the electricity consumed in San Francisco today. San Francisco's goal is to achieve 100% renewable electricity in the City by 2025.

San Francisco has been a leader in promoting a low-carbon economy, recognizing that reducing emissions is both essential for the environment and for spurring economic development. The City has been tracking greenhouse gas emissions for decades, establishing its baseline year in 1990, when the City's emissions across all sectors was just under 8 million mtCO2e. Click here to read the 2022 Inventory At-a-Glance.

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