Throughout the update process, City staff worked closely with a technical consultant to update community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories, conduct future GHG emissions forecasting, and create a list of CAP measures to be vetted by staff, key stakeholders, and the community. Staff conducted robust community engagement efforts such as hosting community workshops and surveys; meeting with key stakeholder groups (e.g., youth, seniors, businesses, cultural organizations, and affordable housing developers); and presenting to relevant City boards, commissions, and committees.

Important Steps in Update Process

• On June 1, 2023, staff presented the draft to the City's Environmental Sustainability Commission. The commission provided feedback and voted unanimously to recommend it to the Fremont City Council.
• On June 20, 2023, staff presented the draft to the City Council. The Council provided feedback and unanimously approved to release the draft for a period of public review and comment.
• From June 21 to July 31, 2023, the draft was available for the public to review and provide feedback. A quick poll and discussion forum were provided to gather feedback.
• In August 2023, staff prepared the revised draft plan to bring to the Environmental Sustainability Commission and the City Council for adoption.
• On September 7, 2023, staff presented the revised draft of Fremont's updated Climate Action Plan to the Environmental Sustainability Commission for their feedback. The revised draft incorporated relevant comments and concerns from the Commission, the City Council, and the public as appropriate. After review and discussion, the Commission voted to recommend the plan to the City Council for adoption.

Additional Resources

• City Council Staff Report - October 10, 2023
• City Council Staff Report - June 20, 2023
• City Council Presentation Slides - June 20, 2023
• City Council Recorded Meeting - June 20, 2023

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First Community Workshop: September 2020

In September 2020, the City hosted the first Climate Action Plan Community Workshop. A recording, presentation slides, and polling results from the workshop are available below:

• Video Recording
• Presentation Slides
• Live Polling Results

Climate Talks Week: February 1-5, 2021

The first week of February 2021, the City hosted a series of virtual community conversations on key areas of the Climate Action Plan update. Each talk included information on potential climate measures and the road ahead, insights from area experts, and an open discussion for participants to voice their questions, ideas, and concerns. The recordings of each Climate Talk and presentation slides are available below:

• Day 1: Energy and Buildings - Video Recording
• Day 1: Energy and Building - Presentation Slides

• Day 2: Land Use and Transportation - Video Recording
• Day 2: Land Use and Transportation - Presentation Slides

• Day 3: Materials, Waste, and Food - Video Recording
• Day 3: Materials, Waste, and Food - Presentation Slides

• Day 4: Water and Nature in the City - Video Recording
• Day 4: Water and Nature in the City - Presentation Slides

• Day 5: Green Business and Market Innovation - Video Recording
• Day 5: Green Business and Market Innovation - Presentation Slides

CAP Consider.it Online Forum

From December 2020 to February 2021, the City hosted an online community forum to gather public input on potential short and long term CAP measures—many of which would require partnership and support from other agencies to achieve. Using the forum, community members commented on suggested measures, proposed new ideas, and responded to feedback submitted by other participants. To view the feedback received, please visit the online forum.

In early 2019, the Fremont City Council deepened its commitment to robust climate action by adopting a Post-Carbon Framework with ambitious goals of 55% GHG emissions reductions by 2030 and 100% emissions reduction by 2050, known commonly as carbon neutrality.

The Post-Carbon Framework establishes guiding values and key strategies that will provide for economic and social opportunity across all ages, cultures, and abilities while at the same time producing no net GHG emissions and protecting and enhancing a healthy and functioning local and global ecosystem.

Guiding Values

• Equity & Access: Ensure that all people have the opportunity to benefit equally from climate solutions, while not taking on an unequal burden of climate impacts.

• Efficiency & Innovation: Promote the efficient use of resources and the adoption of clean and climate-smart technologies and techniques.

• Health & Wellness: Safeguard and enhance the ability of the community to live, work, play, connect, and thrive in a healthy social and physical environment.

• Resiliency & Capacity-Building: Provide education and training on the opportunities offered by a more resilient future and encourage sustainable behaviors across all sectors of the community.

Key Strategies

1. Clean & Renewable Power: Deploy and efficiently use clean, renewable, and locally-sourced electricity generated onsite or transmitted through the power grid.

2. Electrification & Fossil Fuel Phase-Out: Upgrade and replace carbon-intensive, fossil fuel-based infrastructure and combustion power throughout the transportation and building sectors with clean electric power.

3. Carbon Sequestration: Drawdown carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through ecological and/or technological methods and capture and store in plants, soils, water systems, and other solid forms.

4. Mobility & Connectivity: Develop and enhance safe, multimodal, accessible, equitable, intelligent, and clean motorized and non-motorized travel options, transit modes, transportation infrastructure, and community connectivity.

5. Resource Conservation & Elimination of Waste: Conserve natural and manufactured resources by means of the responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials.

6. Restorative Ecology & Green Infrastructure: Restore, rehabilitate, and repurpose degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats through active interventions. Incorporate green infrastructure and ecosystem services into community design.

7. Climate Adaptation & Resilience: Prepare for, limit, learn from, and adapt to the negative effects of climate change through proactive and holistic planning and response at infrastructural, cultural, and institutional levels.

The City passed its first Climate Action Plan in 2012 with the goal of reducing municipal and community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline level. Some implementation successes include improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure, upgrading City streetlights with high-efficiency LEDs, requiring all businesses to recycle, and establishing mandatory solar requirements for new residential construction.