San Francisco Targets Net-Zero by 2040

San Francisco has reset its climate clock: the city now says it will drive citywide greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2040. Mayor Daniel Lurie released the updated Climate Action Plan on April 16, 2026, the city’s first five-year update since the 2021 plan, and signed legislation to align San Francisco’s official climate goals with it. The plan sets an interim target too: a 61% cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2030. It maps actions across seven sectors, including energy supply, buildings, transportation, waste, water, housing and land use, and healthy ecosystems. A net-zero target means the city aims to cut climate pollution as far as possible, then balance any remaining emissions. San Francisco’s plan leans heavily on replacing fossil-fuel use in buildings and transportation with electricity from cleaner sources. Buildings are a major focus because the plan calls for decarbonizing about 18,000 buildings by 2030 and making all buildings zero-emission by 2040. The city says that means switching from gas appliances and heating systems to electric ones. Transportation is the other big lever. The plan calls for reducing vehicle miles traveled 25% from 2019 levels by 2030 and 30% by 2040, while pushing zero-emission cars and small trucks to 25% of the city fleet by 2030 and 100% by 2040. City Hall is pairing the long-range plan with near-term programs. Lurie said San Francisco is launching an Electrify Your Home Incentive Program for CleanPowerSF customers and expanding curbside electric-vehicle charging for residents who cannot charge at home. The update builds on a plan San Francisco adopted in 2021, when the city had already committed to deep emissions cuts and a 2040 net-zero path. The Environment Department says the new version extends that roadmap through 2030 and beyond and folds in public feedback, equity review, and coordination across nearly 20 agencies and departments. San Francisco officials are also tying climate policy to housing and neighborhood growth. The plan calls for 82,000 new housing units by 2030, including at least 36,000 in well-resourced neighborhoods, with an emphasis on affordability and transit-oriented development. The debate now shifts from targets to execution. The Environment Department says publishing the plan is “only the beginning,” and that implementation will require continued coordination, accountability, and action across the city.