San Jose: San José Continues to Tackle Climate Crisis
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June 17, 2022

Media Contact:

Rachel Davis, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo, rachel.davis@sanjoseca.gov

SAN JOSÉ, CA – This week, San José Mayor Sam Liccardo and the City Council approved a new framework to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2030 and also eliminated minimum parking requirements for new construction in the city, the latest in a series of major initiatives by city leaders to address the worsening climate crisis. San José has taken these bold steps as part of the American Cities Climate Challenge, a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Natural Resources Defense Council, focused on accelerating city level climate action.

"We remain focused on bold steps to accelerate our climate action work in San José, thanks to partners like Bloomberg Philanthropies and NRDC, dedicated city staff, and countless other community partners," said San José Mayor Liccardo. "Adopting strategies to accelerate our Carbon Neutral by 2030 goal, and reforming our outdated parking policies are the types of necessary steps we must take to achieve our ambitious climate goals to ensure a livable planet for future generations."

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San José originally pledged to go carbon neutral by the end of the decade, in November, 2021. San José will become the largest city in the United States to have set the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. To achieve carbon neutrality, San José has identified four key acceleration strategies:
  • Moving to zero-emission vehicles;
  • Reducing the number of Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) by 20%;
  • Switching appliances powered by fossil fuels to electric when feasible, and;
  • Powering San José with 100% carbon-neutral electricity

The elimination of mandatory parking minimums city-wide is a critical step towards tackling San José's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions: the transportation sector. The city will reform outdated parking rules, and require new developments to support more ways of getting around beyond driving. City staff will bring a new plan to Council later this year. San José will join other cities re-envisioning land use to create more walkable neighborhoods and affordable homes.

The Mayor and Council also approved a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance, a tool to ensure new developments invest in alternative transportation methods through measures like transit passes, bike and pedestrian improvements, carshare and other measures.

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The actions by San José City Council are a part of Climate Smart San José, adopted by the City in 2018, lays out how we are doing our part to address climate change. Climate Smart San José is one of the first detailed city plans for reaching the targets of the international Paris Agreement. To get there, Climate Smart San José sets ambitious goals for energy, water, transportation and local jobs. So far the City's Climate Smart efforts established San José as a national leader in electric vehicle adoption; led to the installation of 33 miles of new bikeways; and ranked San José as fourth in rooftop solar deployment per capita, ninth in energy efficiency, and first out of the ten largest cities in the United States for a completely carbon-free residential and commercial energy mix.

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About the City of San José

With more than one million residents, San José comprises the 10th largest city in the United States, and one of its most diverse cities. San José's transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.

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