Climate Equity and Jobs

To address environmental justice and social equity, the City of San Diego uses the term “climate equity,” which incorporate both concepts. 

San Diego’s Climate Equity Index was developed in 2019, and revised in 2021, to measure the level of access to opportunity residents have within a census tract, and assess the degree of potential impact from climate change to these areas.

The City also brought together an informal Equity Stakeholder Working Group to provide feedback and guidance on the development of the CEI. From their feedback, the City recognizes that areas with very low, low, and moderate access to opportunity face the largest barriers and should be prioritized. Staff recommends designating these census tracts as Communities of Concern. 

For a detailed map of each indicator and data, follow this link to a more detailed map. 

Climate Equity Index Scores

Working with community-based organizations, the City has defined climate equity as efforts addressing historical inequities suffered by people of color, allowing everyone to fairly share the same benefits and burdens from climate solutions and attain full and equal access to opportunities regardless of one’s background and identity. 

Climate Equity Working Group

The Climate Equity Working Group was brought together in 2019 to informally discuss best practices for incorporating climate equity into City policies and programs within the Sustainability and Mobility Department. The working group brings together local nonprofits and community-based organizations that serve or are located within a Community of Concern, as well as other organizations seeking to advance social equity or environmental justice. All are welcome to attend.  

Currently, the working group meets virtually every third Wednesday of the month, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, except for August and December, unless otherwise noted. Below, you can find the link to the virtual meetings. 

Working Group Participants

As the working group is an informal body, participation is open to anyone who wishes to attend the meeting.

Meetings Calendar

Agenda Item Request

For requested agenda items, Sustainability and Mobility staff may request a 30-minute briefing to discuss your item and better understand your equity component and objective for the discussion with the working group. All items before the Climate Equity Working Group should pertain to policies or programs that seek to incorporate equity or have a tie to the City’s Climate Action Plan. For any questions, please contact Moriah Saldaña at msaldana@sandiego.gov.

Agenda Item Request Form

Job Creation

Tackling climate change has created an opportunity for San Diego to do well for our environment while also boosting our economy. Strategies of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) are intended to promote job creation through capital improvements and corresponding research, development and innovation. These jobs are primarily in high-growth “green job” or “clean tech” with corresponding well-paying wages.

In 2018, job growth in the five CAP-related industry groups continued to rise. Nearly four out of five new jobs are in the Energy and Water Efficient Buildings industry. San Diego’s jobs in these industry groups grew 17.6% from 2010 to 2018.