On October 15, 2019, the Palm Springs Sustainability Commission met to discuss how to move forward with discussions and potential further actions to address the climate change. At that meeting, the group agreed that the City should develop a roadmap to acknowledge the seriousness of our current climate crisis, describe what the City has already done and plans to do to address climate change, and identify potential additional actions.  

This document responds to that request and is intended to serve as a focus for further discussions among the Commission and the City Council. It also serves as an initial step in developing more detailed climate goals and strategies to include in a future iteration of the City’s Sustainability Plan.  

View the Climate Action Roadmap - October 18, 2021

The City of Palm Springs is proud to have completed this report, the “2013 Climate Action Plan:
Leadership in Energy Efficiency.” It falls within a broader sustainability planning context
supported by Southern California Edison (SCE) and its ratepayers. It also builds on the City’s
Path to a Sustainable Community adopted in 2008.

View the Climate Action Plan - 2013

With this Plan, Palm Springs is joining an increasing number of California local governments
committed to addressing climate change at the local level. In February of 2008, the City of Palm
Springs endorsed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, an agreement
now adopted by 1,054 mayors representing nearly 89 million residents. This agreement called
on signatory cities to reduce their emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012, in line with the
Kyoto Protocol. The City of Palm Springs is now planning further action now to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations and throughout the community.

The City of Palm Springs includes Indian Reservation land. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla
Indians Reservation land constitutes approximately 18% (16.6 square miles) of the total land
(94.55 square miles) within the City limits. See the Agua Caliente 2013 Greenhouse Gas
Inventory prepared by Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) for a full
explanation of how Reservation and Tribal emissions are accounted for in the overlap of
jurisdictions.

The City will continue to take advantage of common-sense approaches as well as
cutting-edge policies to reduce energy use and waste, create local jobs, improve air
quality, preserve the local landscape and history, and in other ways benefit the City for
years to come.

The Climate Action Plan is a framework for the development and implementation of policies
and programs that will reduce the City’s emissions. It addresses the major sources of emissions
in seven spheres of daily life:

1. Where We Live (Residential)
2. Where We Work (Business)
3. How We Build (Building)
4. How We Get Around (Transportation)
5. How We Govern (Municipal)
6. Where We Visit and Play (Hospitality/Recreation)
7. How We Teach and Learn (Education)

PlaceWorks is working with the City of Palm Springs (City) to update greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories
and forecasts, in support of the City’s ongoing General Plan update. This work includes an update to the
community-wide and City operations 2010 inventories, preparation of a 2018 community-wide inventory,
and preparation of a forecast for future years. After completing an update to the 2010 GHG inventory,
PlaceWorks prepared a 2018 GHG inventory for community-wide activities. This memo summarizes the
results of the 2018 GHG inventory.

2020 GHG Emissions Inventory Projections

2018 GHG Emissions Inventory Summary

2010 GHG Emissions Update