Berkeley, California

City Overview

Berkeley is a city with nearly 120,000 residents located in the San Francisco Bay Area that has long been a leader in local climate action. Berkeley committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, in alignment with California’s statewide goals, as well as becoming a fossil fuel-free city as soon as possible. Berkeley is also committed to increasing equity and affordability for its residents, integrating social and racial equity goals into its Resilience Strategy, Strategic Plan, and Wellness Blueprint Project. By 2026, Berkeley will update its General Plan with an Environmental Justice Element.

 

Local Programs, Policies, and Strategies

BEI began working with Berkeley in 2019, completing a Building and Housing Stock Analysis in 2020 that identifies the health, resiliency, and affordability needs of its building stock. In 2021, Berkeley used this research to inform its Existing Building Electrification Strategy, which lays out strategies and community considerations on how to equitably transition all Berkeley buildings off of fossil fuels. To support the City’s efforts to develop and fund implementable solutions, BEI completed a Residential Funding Gap Analysis in 2023 that analyzes the potential for stacking multiple incentives and the gaps that remain to fully electrify residential buildings – including the investments needed for health, safety, and electric readiness upgrades that often need to be completed prior to electrification. 

In 2024, BEI provided technical analysis to underpin a planned update to Berkeley’s Building Emission Savings Ordinance (BESO) to include retrofit requirements at the time-of-sale. In 2025, BEI will support the City’s efforts to develop a building performance standard for large buildings. To complement these new requirements, BEI is working with Berkeley to identify lessons learned from on-the-ground implementation of equitable decarbonization programs, including innovative pilots supported by Berkeley’s Climate Equity Fund and a two-year, $1.5 million Just Transition Pilot designed to identify high road workforce opportunities through building retrofit project aggregation. 

 
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Regional and Statewide Programs, Policies, and Strategies

Given the strong climate leadership of the broader San Francisco Bay Area, BEI is supporting partners working at the regional level. This includes participation in a regional High Road Training Partnership focused on improving job quality for building decarbonization workers, increasing access to good jobs, and opening new economic opportunities for minority- and women-owned contractors in the region. BEI has also led regional conversations on how to advance regional community-driven retrofit programs and help low- and moderate-income households prepare for implementation of the Bay Area Air District’s appliance emissions standards, which will phase out the purchase and installation of NOx-emitting gas-fired water heaters and furnaces across the region beginning in 2027. BEI also works in coalition with workforce, environmental, housing, and environmental justice groups to advance equitable statewide programs, including the Equitable Building Decarbonization program, which has received both state and federal funding.  

Berkeley's leadership in equitable building decarbonization, coupled with regional collaboration across the Bay Area, is a testament to how local and regional action can complement and accelerate statewide climate goals. With BEI’s support, the San Francisco Bay Area is leading the way on nation-leading policies and programs that can be replicated across California and beyond.