The City of Alameda has published the Final Draft 2025 Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), which serves as a mid-cycle update to the original plan published in 2019. This iteration is intended to celebrate the City and community’s successes while also evaluating progress and outlining a revised vision and goals, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures, and implementation plans. The 2025 CARP also includes an update to the Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan.
During the Transportation Commission meeting on Wednesday, February 26, City Sustainability and Resilience Manager and CARP staff lead Danielle Mieler introduced the new plan with support from Sami Taylor, a senior planner with the consulting firm Raimi + Associates.
The latest vision statement, according to Taylor, has been updated based on extensive community engagement and rewritten with a focus on equity: “Alameda aims to be carbon neutral and to build community resilience in ways that enhance our quality of life and reduce environmental burden on vulnerable communities. The whole community is a vital part of this effort.”
Achieving the four key goals of becoming carbon neutral, building community resilience, cultivating community education and activation, and leading by example is supported by ongoing and new GHG reduction strategies in each space. For example, reducing transportation emissions—which make up two-thirds of emissions in Alameda—involves the existing strategies of supporting active transportation and transportation demand management, as well as the new or spun-off strategies of parking and curb management and public transit service.
In highlighting progress made so far, Taylor noted a 29% reduction in GHG emissions by 2022 compared to 2005 levels. This reduction can be attributed to several notable changes in energy consumption, including 100% clean electricity provided by Alameda Municipal Power (AMP), cleaner vehicles and fewer vehicle-miles traveled, and a reduction in the use of natural gas. The City target is to reach a 50% GHG reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero by 2045.
Other accomplishments made in the past year, as listed in the CARP Annual Report, included the expansion of several clean transportation and energy programs as well as the launch of new initiatives, such as the Urban Forest Plan and an annual Home Electrification Fair.
The Commission unanimously voted to endorse the 2025 CARP and 2024 Annual Report. During discussion, Commissioner Jamie Gloyne asked how the City is planning to reduce GHG emissions by a further 21% to reach the 50% reduction by 2030. In response, Mieler suggested that the implementation of the City’s Active Transportation Plan and Transportation Choices Plan are critical pieces in encouraging shifts towards more sustainable modes of travel.
However, Commissioner Drew Dara-Abrams cautioned that further GHG reductions could require more active leadership and “bold action,” since much of the reductions so far are primarily attributed to AMP’s delivery of clean electricity.
“If we actually want to get to the goals that are here, we can’t stop pushing projects past 2030,” said Dara-Abrams. “The first half seems to have worked very well with local action on energy, and for the second half of the CARP to work with local actions…we have to follow through on the Vision Zero Action Plan and the Active Transportation Plan.”
The 2025 CARP will go before the Planning Board for consideration on Monday, March 10, and before City Council on Tuesday, March 18.
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der.
