Carlsbad commission reviews 2025 Climate Action Plan annual report; staff to share inventory updates

At the June 4 meeting of the City of Carlsbad Environmental Sustainability Commission, staff presented the Climate Action Plan Annual Report for calendar year 2025 and outlined next steps for monitoring and implementation. Katie Hentrich, the city’s climate action plan administrator, said the plan includes 23 measures and 100 actions with monitoring benchmarks on five‑year intervals and targets of a 50% greenhouse‑gas reduction by 2035 and 85% by 2045.

Hentrich reported that through 2025 seven actions were completed, 13 were in progress and on schedule, two were in progress but delayed, 50 were ongoing, and 28 had not yet started. She said the city’s municipal accounts for wastewater lift stations, recycled water pumps and city facilities were switched to Clean Energy Alliance 100% renewable accounts in July 2025 as an “early win.” Hentrich also said the city completed a community forest assessment showing a citywide canopy cover of 15.84% (about a 1% decline since 2018) and met a tree‑planting goal of 3,000 trees by 2025.

On the greenhouse‑gas inventory, staff said a jointly applied SANDAG grant will fund updated inventories but the 2022 inventory release was delayed by SANDAG and is expected later in 2026. ‘‘We were notified of the award in early summer 2025, but SANDAG postponed the scheduled board acceptance date,’’ Hentrich said, adding the city will share the updated inventory with the commission when it’s available.

Commissioners pressed for more detail about the 28 actions showing no progress. Commissioner Corrigan asked whether the lack of progress indicates abandonment or simply later benchmark years; Hentrich said many of the actions have later benchmark years (2030–2045) and offered to compile a list that shows the benchmark year for each of those 28 actions so the commission can track launch and completion timing. ‘‘A good example is we have benchmark years assigned to each measure and they’re broken out in increments through 2045,’’ she said.

Council‑level budget and staffing proved a recurring theme. Commissioners and public commenters urged more outreach support and a recurring status update channel. Hentrich said education and outreach are critical but limited by staffing: ‘‘I’m a division of one. If I could spend all my time doing education and outreach, I would,’’ she said, urging commissioner support on communications.

The presentation also addressed solid‑waste diversion efforts and state requirements. In response to Commissioner Evans, staff described the city’s approach under SB 1383 organics requirements — the city contracts with a waste hauler to collect and process organic material and then reuses the resulting compost and mulch on city properties; processed material is also available to residents free of charge. Staff added that the city’s single‑use plastics ordinances and outreach help reduce contamination and improve diversion rates.

Staff briefed the commission on several items identified as 2025 monitoring benchmarks: updating sustainable procurement policy (completed April 2024), updating the EV siting plan (contract approved Jan. 2026; work under way but delayed), community forest inventory (completed), and fleet planning for vehicle electrification. Hentrich said monitoring benchmarks are set for every five years beginning 2025 and that staff will continue to focus on early implementation tasks.

Public commenters urged stronger integration of coastal and sea‑level planning with climate work. Kathleen Seidelberger, a former Beach Preservation Commission chair, praised the CAP but said the city’s sea‑level rise planning documents are dated and recommended establishing a coastal zone administrator position to coordinate coastal permitting and adaptation planning.

There were no votes on new policies; staff said next steps include sharing the updated greenhouse‑gas inventory when available, compiling the benchmark‑year list for actions currently marked as having no progress, and continuing implementation of the CAP actions tied to 2030 monitoring tasks.