The City of Carlsbad continues to make progress on its Climate Action Plan, a long-term roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting a more sustainable future. An updated plan was approved by the City Council in November 2024, building on years of work and setting new targets for the community.

This week, staff shared the first annual report on the updated plan, highlighting progress made in 2025 — the first full year of implementation. So far, seven of the plan’s 100 actions are complete, 13 are underway and on schedule, and many others are ongoing as part of day-to-day city operations.

The city is still working toward our long-term goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 50% below 2016 levels by 2035 and 85% below 2016 levels by 2045.

2025 highlights

Some of the progress that stood out over the past year includes:

• Switched all city facilities and operations to 100% renewable electricity through the Clean Energy Alliance
• Launched a public Climate Action Plan dashboard so the community can track progress over time
• Completed an updated citywide tree canopy assessment to understand tree coverage, identify trends and track progress on sustainability goals 
• Added 3,000 trees to the city’s inventory since late September 2019 under the Community Forest Management Plan, meeting a key goal over approximately six years 
• Advanced planning for electric vehicle and bike charging infrastructure across the city
• Secured grant funding with regional partners to update Carlsbad’s greenhouse gas inventory
• Continued updating the city’s fleet strategy to support more zero-emission vehicles

Tracking progress over time
One of the most important tools for measuring progress is the city’s greenhouse gas inventory, which tracks where emissions come from across the community. Transportation remains the largest source, followed by electricity and natural gas use.

The city is partnering with other local agencies to update its greenhouse gas inventory. This update will help show whether local efforts, like cleaner energy and transportation improvements, are making a difference. The updated inventory is expected later this year.

Making information easier to access
In addition to the annual report, the city continues to update its online Climate Action Plan dashboard. The dashboard presents key data in a clear, easy-to-understand format and will be refreshed each year alongside the annual report. You can explore the latest data and track progress on the city’s website.

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