Mayor Recommended Budget Sparks Debate Over S . F . Climate Priorities

sfpublicpress.org · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s recommended budget would significantly reduce support for the city’s Environment Department starting this summer, scaling back one of the agency’s only flexible funding sources. The proposed cuts would eliminate general fund dollars for the Climate Equity Hub, a program that helps low-income households with energy efficiency and health-focused retrofits. And they could imperil other programs that rely on those unrestricted funds to pay staff and administrative costs not covered by grants or fees. Those programs include public electric-car charging and the city’s ambitious plan to wean itself off fossil fuels in less than two decades. The budget proposal, which is preliminary and subject to revision before final adoption by the Board of Supervisors in July, has sparked debate over whether San Francisco’s climate and environmental justice ambitions are being matched by its budget amid a broader shortfall. Roughly two hundred protesters gathered in front of City Hall on Wednesday to oppose the potential cuts. An array of speakers, including supervisors, advocates from communities in the city’s southeast and union leaders, filled the steps and faced the crowd as car drivers leaned on their horns. Behind the speakers, papier-mâché figures personifying the earth loomed over the rally. The same puppets had graced a rally last spring protesting the Trump administration’s cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. But this time, as several speakers pointed out, the cuts to an environmental agency were poised to come from the local level. “San Francisco talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk,” said Antonio Díaz, organizational director of PODER, an environmental justice organization. “San Francisco has to look toward a future that is climate friendly, which will improve the health outcomes of its residents,” said Arieann Harrison, founder of the Marie Harrison Community Foundation, a Bayview-Hunters Point advocacy organization named after her late mother, an influential neighborhood activist. “You can’t do that by taking away from the programs that have started moving in that direction.” Her comments were echoed by Bradley Angel, director of environmental justice organization Greenaction, which is suing the U.S. Navy over an incomplete cleanup of radioactive and toxic soils at the long-polluted Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. “We need more city support to address rising sea levels, rising groundwater and other impacts of climate change, not just on infrastructure, but on the health of the people,” he said. The Environment Department has a recommended budget of about $41 million for fiscal year 2026-2027, of which only about $600,000 comes from the General Fund. But that allocation would mark a steep reduction from the recent past. In 2022-2023, that support totaled nearly $3 million. At a Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing at City Hall following the rally, Environment Department Director Tyrone Jue said those unrestricted dollars are used primarily for staffing and overhead beyond what is covered by grant funding earmarked for specific programs. If finalized, the funding cut could trigger the layoffs of key department staff and would likely constrain the agency’s capacity to support efforts like the Climate Action Plan, which charts a path for the city to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, along with environmental justice initiatives. “Today’s hearing reflects the difficult budget decisions facing the Environment Department and the programs we deliver citywide,” department spokesperson Joseph Piasecki said in a written statement. “The budget is not final, and we are continuing constructive conversations with the Mayor’s Office and the Board of Supervisors. Under the current proposals eight positions are at risk, with impacts to climate accountability, building electrification, and clean transportation delivery.” Asked about the rationale behind the cuts and how they would affect department operations, a Lurie representative gave a statement that did not directly address concerns that some program roles could be eliminated. “The mayor will work closely with department heads, the Board of Supervisors, community partners, and labor to deliver a responsible budget that prioritizes core services — clean and safe streets and a durable recovery that benefits all San Franciscans,” wrote Kate Poltrack, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. Local leaders and community advocates worried that slashing the Environment Department’s funding would undermine progress on environmental justice initiatives, such as building decarbonization. The Climate Equity Hub covers the cost of green building retrofits, such as installing electric heat pump water heaters or electric stoves. The program has targeted upgrades in low-income households in an effort to alleviate indoor air pollution from appliances that burn natural gas. Though the Climate Equity Hub received $370,878 from the city’s General Fund in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, it is set to receive no general fund support this year. District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder and PODER’s Díaz both cited the Climate Equity Hub as instrumental in facilitating recently completed upgrades and renovations that converted a four-unit building in the Mission District to be run entirely on electricity. That project marked a step forward on climate justice, Fielder told the crowd. “This is exactly what we need to be supporting, not cutting,” she said. “We have been leaders in global climate policy. We cannot afford to backslide.” That work might, become even more important in coming years, according to Zachary Frial, social development and policy coordinator with the South of Market Community Action Network, which has advised the Climate Equity Hub. Next year, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will restrict the purchase and sale of gas water heaters, and, in 2029, will restrict gas furnaces. The new rules, while upgrading housing infrastructure, could inadvertently make low-income tenants vulnerable to displacement if landlords try to use renovations as an excuse to evict tenants, Frial said. Even if tenants have a right to return once renovations are complete, sometimes construction can take so long that they are forced to move on. Through the Climate Equity Hub, community organizations are able to step in to minimize displacement, he said. Environment Department staff were critical in providing technical assistance to PODER in the Mission District retrofit by identifying incentives and finding specialized consultants. “It will be much harder without them,” Díaz said.