Environmental groups lobby mayor to rethink gas-burning Convention Center remodel

• That policy stipulates that city-owned buildings install electric kitchen and heating/cooling systems whenever they replace or upgrade existing ones.

Flashback: The San Diego Convention Center Corporation — the city-created nonprofit that manages the facility — is pursuing the multimillion-dollar projects despite city policy committing to eliminate half of natural-gas usage in city buildings by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

What they're saying: "We are calling on the city to investigate the misalignment of the Convention Center's facility upgrades with the Climate Action Plan and to ensure the central plant redesign [in progress] is all-electric," the coalition wrote in its letter to the mayor, members of the City Council's environmental committee and Convention Center officials.

• The mayor's office did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

Why it matters: The city's commitment to decarbonize buildings is a central piece of its Climate Action Plan, which aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2035.

• The city isn't just concerned with its own buildings; it has promised to slash 45% of natural-gas usage from all buildings in the city by 2030, and 90% by 2035.
• 25% of the state's emissions come from residential and commercial buildings.