This year’s Climate Action Plan Progress Report found that San Luis Obispo isn’t on track to meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. Despite that, the SLO City Council chose to keep the goal in place.
“I wouldn't say that it's going to be easy to get to 2035, but it's easy for me to say ‘Yes, let's keep on with that goal,’” Mayor Erica A. Stewart said.
City staff presented on SLO’s progress towards climate goals at a council meeting last week.
Stewart told SLO Sustainability Manager Chris Read that he or his staff should tell the council if the 2035 goal ever becomes implausible.
According to the 2026 progress report, the city has made substantial progress in reducing emissions. In a little less than a decade, greenhouse gas emissions are predicted to fall to half of 2005 levels. The progress report identifies transportation between SLO and other nearby communities as a serious obstacle.
“We still expect to experience or achieve significant reductions in electricity and organic waste,” Read told the council. “But we do anticipate falling short in the natural gas sector and in the transportation sector.”
Sustainability analyst Lucia Baesemann told the council that the city could push for more low-carbon regional transit.
“While the city does not administer these programs, we have representation on the regional boards that do,” Baesemann said, arguing the city could shape future decisions.
The SLO Regional Transit Authority operates intercity bus lines like Route 10, which take riders from the Cal Poly campus to Santa Maria.
Councilmember Mike Boswell responded by saying regional transportation is connected to housing issues, mentioning that much of SLO’s workforce lives outside the city.
“Not everybody wants to live in SLO. That's totally fine, some people wanna live at the beach,” Boswell said. “But there are many folks, and I've talked to many, who would prefer to live in SLO and who cannot make that choice.”
More local housing options for workers could reduce commutes and emissions from transportation, he argued.
The SLO City Council also voted unanimously to join a group that lobbies on climate issues in Sacramento called the Local Government Climate Alliance.
The alliance is hosted by Santa Barbara, and its members are other California cities and counties.
Baesemann said the group runs on consensus, so it would only take a position on a bill if all members, including SLO, agree to that position.
Feedback to the 2026 Climate Action Plan Progress Report will be used to develop the city’s new Climate Action Plan, Read told KCBX. That plan will be presented to the council in 2027.
