Seven sectors

To become a zero-emissions city, San Francisco must use only 100% renewable electricity for all energy needs and strategically phase out fossil fuels in all sectors.

• Continue to offer 100% renewable and/or GHG-free electricity to all.
• Ensure all residents and businesses use 100% renewable and GHG- free electricity by 2030.
• Transition all energy uses citywide to 100% renewable and/or GHG- free sources by 2040.

Buildings are San Francisco's second-largest source of climate pollution and the Bay Area's largest source of harmful air pollution.

• By 2030, reduce building emissions by 20% (from 2020) by decarbonizing the equivalent of 18,000 buildings.
• By 2040, all buildings will be zero-emission.

The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, nationally and in San Francisco.

• Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled: Achieve a 25% reduction in per-capita Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 2030 and 30% reduction by 2040 (from 2019 levels), focusing housing where it will reduce the need for longer trips and increasing the use of transit, walking, and biking.
• Advance Zero-Emission Vehicles: By 2030, at least 25% of cars and small trucks registered in San Francisco are zero-emission; by 2035, at least 25% of large trucks and other heavier-duty vehicles; and by 2040, 100% of all cars and small trucks.

Planning for housing is key to climate action. When people live close to jobs, services, and public transit, they drive less. This reduces climate-polluting emissions in the city and region.

• By 2030, plan for 82,000 new housing units, including not less than 36,000 in well-resourced neighborhoods, prioritizing affordability, transit-oriented development, and increased density along major transit corridors.

A circular economy is essential for managing the overconsumption and waste of materials, which is a primary driver of emissions, as well as water pollution and biodiversity loss.

• Waste Generation: By 2030, reduce solid waste generation by 15% (from 2015).
• Landfill Disposal: By 2030, reduce disposal to landfill by 50% (from 2015).
• Embodied Carbon: By 2035, achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from building materials compared to the 2026 industry average baseline established by the state.

Rapid biodiversity loss is threatening global ecosystems essential to food, water, public health, species conservation, and climate resilience.

• Biodiverse Land: By 2030, 30-40% of San Francisco's land area is permeable (can absorb rain), and at least 30% of this is biodiverse greenspace.
• Access to Nature: By 2040, every San Franciscan lives within a 10-minute walk from nature in the city.
• Trees as Public Infrastructure: By 2040, plant enough trees to achieve a net increase of 30,000 for a total of 155,000 street trees, completing the street tree network and enhancing a healthy urban forest.

San Francisco, like all of California, is experiencing a new climate reality.

• Maximize water use efficiency to keep combined indoor and outdoor residential water use under the State's 2030 standard for indoor residential water use of 42 gallons per capita per day.
• Enhance the resilience of San Francisco's water supply by 2045 by increasing local water sources to include 2.5 million gallons per day (mgd) of recycled water, 4 mgd of groundwater, and by exploring additional new water supplies, while maintaining the Hetch Hetchy gravity-driven water delivery system.