We were excited to celebrate and award the title Climate Champion to three San Francisco Supervisors - Rafael Mandelman, Gordon Mar, and Myrna Melgar - in appreciation of their outstanding work with the Climate Justice and Environmental Justice community to fight climate change and protect our health and environment.

When: Friday, October 7, 2022, 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Where: Polk Street steps of City Hall, facing Civic Center Plaza

​These Supervisors have introduced and supported legislation, resolutions, and have held hearings on many issues related to climate and environmental justice. They have been with us all along the way, pushing for support of the Department of the Environment (SFE) and the implementation and funding of our Climate Action Plan.
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With this recognition, we let them know we remember their contributions and we can't wait to work with them in the future to fund and implement the Climate Action Plan.

Other organizations joining SF CEC in honoring the Supervisors include 350 SF, California Native Plant Society, Charge across Town, Citizens Climate Lobby SF Chapter, Climate Action Now!, Climate Reality Project SF Policy Action, Friends of the Urban Forest, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Jobs With Justice, Mothers Out Front SF, Plastic Free Fridays, Plastic Free Future, SF Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco Tomorrow, SF Circle of 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations, SPUR (SF Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association), and Sutro Stewards.

We won $1.4 million for three climate programs!!

Climate-action funding got the most action at the Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing last week. Supervisor Mandelman introduced his proposal to add $1.4 million for an analysis of what’s needed, a climate equity hub to collect experts and information for all-electric retrofits, and grants for community-led climate action. Supervisor Mar joined in, and Chair Haney was enthusiastic. We and allies had the most commenters (30% of the total!!) even though no comment was allowed until after 11 hours of nonstop budget reports.

There's still more work to do...The proposal is about .01% of the city budget, not the 1% we seek, so we need to applaud but cry Encore And More!

Check out the press release from Supervisors Mandelman, Mar, and Haney.

Daniel Tahara, of the SF Climate Emergency Coalition speaks at the San Francisco Department of Environment’s Earth Day Celebration, April 22, 2021.

After the speeches of Debra Gore-Mann, President of the Greenlining Institute (pictured top-center), Eric Shaw, Director of Mayor’s office of Housing and Community Development (middle-right) and Sharaya Souza, Executive Director of the American Indian Cultural District (bottom-left), Daniel spoke on working together on climate, and the need for the City to fund climate solutions.

Director of the SF Department of the Environment Debbie Raphael (bottom-center) hosted the event.

Yesterday, we joined Supervisor Gordon Mar, PODER SF, SEIU 1021 and others to celebrate the unanimous passage of a resolution demanding that Governor Newsom and the State Legislature end new oil and gas extraction, and begin a phaseout of existing extraction with a just and equitable transition for workers. This resolution echoes and amplifies the demands of the Last Chance Alliance and caps off what has been an incredible 2020 for the Coalition.

Fresh off the unanimous passage of the all-electric new construction ordinance, Supervisor Mandelman and his aide, Jacob Bintliff joined us to celebrate!  We thanked the Supervisor for his leadership, and he reiterated that our tireless advocacy --  holding his feet to the fire at every turn and lobbying the other Supervisors on the urgency of the ordinance -- is what ultimately got this over the line.

We're looking forward to working with his office on future legislation, and we will be meeting with them in the near future  to start planning climate action for 2021!

San Francisco, CA -- On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to pass the all-electric new buildings ordinance introduced by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and co-sponsored by Supervisors Dean Preston, Gordon Mar, Shamann Walton, and Matt Haney.

San Francisco is the largest city in the state to pass an all-electric building ordinance and joins more than 30 other cities in California to begin phasing gas out of buildings. Now the ball is in the hands of the California Energy Commission to phase out gas in new construction statewide and those of the Governor and Legislature to accelerate the decarbonization of California's existing buildings in an equitable manner.

The ordinance enforces newly constructed buildings to be all electric starting June 1, 2021. If the project includes a new restaurant, developers can receive a permit waiver for cooking equipment that would be available until the end of 2021. 

San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition member Daniel Tahara released the following statement:

“Phasing out natural gas from new buildings opens the door towards addressing existing buildings, which represent 44% of San Francisco’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Tackling them equitably and cost effectively will be the challenge of our time, but scientists are clear that we cannot afford to wait. We’re excited to continue our work with the City of San Francisco, frontline communities, labor organizations, regional governments and the State on immediate next steps to establish a city hub and fund to transition communities off natural gas at an emergency pace.” 

Months of advocacy led by the San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition brought us to this historic victory. Most importantly, in the spirit of solidarity, labor -- namely the plumbing trades -- and environmentalists in San Francisco joined forces to lay the groundwork for a Just Transition. A habitable climate does not have to result in working people losing their jobs amidst an historic economic depression. The all-electric requirements and corresponding steps to expand the use of recycled and gray water systems is a blueprint for the rest of the state and country. Labor and environmentalists can support one another in securing good jobs for workers and building safer, healthier cities without fossil fuel infrastructure at the same time.

This ordinance showcases a key relationship and understanding that can help foster legislation phasing out gas in other jurisdictions and policies aimed at equitably retrofitting all existing buildings. Partnership will be critical in moving California towards clean and efficient electric heating, cooling, cooking and conserving precious water resources in the face of climate-driven drought.

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2020
Contact: helena@sfclimateemergency.org 

SAN FRANCISCO— Climate and public health advocates led by the San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition seek to amend and strengthen the all-electric new buildings ordinance introduced today by San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

Months of advocacy by the Coalition and allies yielded a draft ordinance which applies across building types in new San Francisco building projects applying for permit on or after January 1, 2021, but there are two caveats. A blanket exception for new commercial restaurants until 2022 benefits developers of new facilities while leaving workers, owners, and occupants with the downsides of harmful emissions, excessive heat, and imminent retrofit costs. Beyond that, the granting of exemptions is in the hands of the Department of Building Inspection.

Climate activists don’t want developers to be able to petition DBI behind closed doors, especially to get exemptions from the first real Climate Emergency legislation to come out of the Board of Supervisors. “We have less than ten years to cut emissions in half” notes Coalition member Helena Birecki, “and especially with lung problems being brought to the fore with Covid, it’s criminal for developers to argue they can’t afford to build clean!”

A transparent and accessible exceptions process based on the public interest is key to an all-electric ordinance that aligns with San Francisco’s public health, safety, and climate goals. Nearly 40% of San Francisco’s carbon emissions arise from natural gas use in buildings, and pollution from gas appliances and infrastructure is a significant public health and safety hazard. Let’s stop adding fuel to the fire.

COVID-19 has provided a stark reminder of the intersection between social, economic, and racial injustice. Air pollution and climate impacts disproportionately burden our most vulnerable communities. Every exception to the ordinance endangers lives.
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​The Coalition appreciates the Supervisor’s leadership and persistence and looks forward to working with the full Board to produce an ordinance that protects all San Franciscans, effective January 1, 2021. When San Francisco becomes the largest city in the country, and the first California county, to ban natural gas in new buildings, it should be without loopholes. Then San Francisco would truly lead on building electrification, and on addressing the global climate emergency.

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The San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition is composed of concerned citizens from all Supervisorial Districts of San Francisco who promote the realization of the goals of San Francisco’s Climate Emergency Declaration.

While we celebrated this Earth Week physically apart, but we are still writing history together. This update invites you to take action online, and ends with a few recommendations for worthwhile climate videos/webinars.
Across the world, young people especially are collaborating in online campaigns to move towards a healthier, more just, and more livable future.
Sunrise Bay Area shows why we need a Green New Deal, especially in light of Covid 19.
Fridays for Future hosts a podcast featuring Vanessa Nakate and Acham Evelyn from Uganda
Greta Thunberg encourages us to change our behavior for the greater good of society.
Quick action! Share with your friends and social media circle!
Even as Covid-19 is pummeling low income communities of color and healthcare professionals, both are continuing to sound the alarm that the crises of climate change and public health cannot be treated separately, and that the same climate-change causing fossil fuel pollution likely makes this pandemic deadlier.
Frontline leaders demand public health leadership on oil drilling.
Hanna Saltzman: Lesson from the pandemic is to prioritize clean air
Quick action! Amplify these voices-- share with your friends and social media circle.
Earth day challenge: Further amplify the clean air solutions we have, including all-electric buildings, by responding to the SF Chronicle article with a letter to the editor to the editor. (New to letter-writing? Tips here.)

Our coalition continues to work inside San Francisco to push our City to walk its talk on the Climate Emergency. On Friday we had an online meeting with staff from SFE and Supervisor Mandelman regarding his upcoming all-electric new buildings legislation. Here’s the summary:
The good: The legislation is intended to be applicable “at permit”-- which includes developments already generally approved by the Planning Department that have not yet filed Building Permit applications. This could capture more of “the pipeline” than even Berkeley’s ban in terms of strictly banning new gas infrastructure, if it weren’t a year delayed.
The bad: The Supervisor shows no intention of amending the Green Building Code to require all units in the pipeline to be at minimum electric ready.
The truth: We have more to do to continue to spotlight the connection of pollution and climate change to public health, now and in the future.
Community action! If you haven’t yet, send a letter to Supervisor Mandelman and your own Supervisor to let them know how important comprehensive building electrification is to you. Thank you!

Stay motivated! Bill Weihl discusses discusses how his new organization Climate Voice is building a movement to get companies to go "all-in on climate," and Dr. Cynthia Mahoney explains in under two minutes what the Covid crisis teaches us about the public health crisis, and encourages us to "flatten the climate curve. Invest in climate, health, and equity."

Be well and thank you for all you do in these difficult and important times