A superior court judge this week rejected San Diego County’s latest climate action plan to control greenhouse gas emissions.
The court found that the climate action plan failed to meet the county’s commitment to reach greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals laid out by the state of California.
The judge decided that using carbon credits, or offsets from around the world, was not acceptable, calling the mitigation unverifiable.
“The Board of Supervisors have to get serious about a real climate action plan that conforms with California law,” said Sierra Club San Diego president Peter Andersen.
The ruling could affect four major county-approved developments, including the controversial Newland Sierra project in a rural part of North County. The Sierra Club is challenging the project arguing the mitigation plan is the same as what the superior court rejected.
"It's going to be massively curtailed because those projects that have already been approved now have a permanent injunction,” Andersen said. “The ball is in the county's court here in several regards. They're going to have to figure out if they're capable of doing a reasonable and doable and environmentally sensitive climate action plan."
This is the third time San Diego County’s climate action plan was rejected by the courts. The county can appeal the ruling.
