As the world came to a sudden halt in 2020, the climate crisis persisted on its path to cause irreversible harm to the ocean and coast. Through everything this year threw at us, we were consistently inspired by the energy and vigilance members of our community and partner organizations showed in taking action to fight climate change.
Below are some of our major initiatives undertaken in 2020 and our objectives for 2021.
- Climate - There is never a shortage of climate related policy being voted on or discussed across the county. From Climate Action Plans to Community Choice Energy, we submitted 10 letters to cities around the county on various climate related issues and signed onto many more with our partners in 2020.
- San Diego Green New Deal - We are proud to be one of the original members of the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance and work alongside the many member organizations fighting for a just and equity transition to address the climate crisis.
- Building Electrification - In order to transition away from fossil fuels in the near future, we must stop the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure today. At the end of 2020, Encinitas became the first city in our county to take meaningful action in this space and we will continue to push other cities to do the same in 2021. Check out our blog post and policy statement to learn more.
- Blue Carbon - Our coastal wetlands and estuaries have enormous potential to be a solution to climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide. We are excited to begin working with the California Blue Carbon Collaborative to protect these vital ecosystems through volunteer field work.
- Transportation - The transportation sector is our region’s number one greenhouse gas emitter. On top of continuing to support local policy that prioritizes biking, walking, and clean public transportation, we plan to roll out a certification platform to encourage businesses and cities to promote climate conscious commuting.
We encourage anyone who is interested in joining our committee to email our Committee Leads, JP & Carly, at climatechange@surfridersd.org, or attend our committee meetings every second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 PM.
