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For years, Mountain View has been making progress in combatting greenhouse gas emissions with a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. But that target is shaping up to be more challenging than anticipated, as shifting political winds have altered federal and state policies that the city once counted on to help reach its decarbonization goals.
“The last time the council addressed this issue, we said, ‘Can we make it by 2035?’ Council member Alison Hicks recalled at a May 26 meeting. “And then we kind of galloped off in that direction and got the rug ripped out from under us.”
On Tuesday evening, city staff presented a revised plan for Mountain View to try and reach carbon neutrality by 2045, one that has a more sustained focus on local and regional strategies that can be implemented over the next five years.
“We can’t get to zero emissions all by ourselves, but we don’t throw in the towel because of this,” said Danielle Lee, the city’s chief sustainability officer. “Local actions are insufficient, but they are essential.”
What has changed?
Early last year, Mountain View started to explore ways that it could speed up its goal of achieving carbon neutrality, potentially reaching it as soon as 2035. Since then, there has been a rollback of federal and state policies that could have helped the city achieve significant emissions reductions, Lee said.
In May 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoked a waiver that it had given to California, which would have allowed the state to ban the sale of new gas fueled vehicles, starting in 2035. The waiver would have reduced emissions in Mountain View by approximately 263,595 metric tons, according to the city staff report. Without the waiver, the city is now projected to be responsible for 40% of the emissions reductions needed by 2045, up from just 7%.
“Revoking that waiver has shifted significant responsibility to the local level to deal with greenhouse gas emissions,” Lee said.
State law AB 306 also has limited local jurisdictions from adopting or amending residential building codes until 2031, including reach codes that promote home electrification to reduce the use of natural gas, according to the staff report.
In response to these changes, Mountain View is looking to implement more localized strategies to cut emissions, with a particular focus on reducing the use of fossil fuels in buildings and transportation. Together, buildings and transportation systems constitute the largest share of Mountain View’s total community emissions, approximately 90%, Lee said.
City Council weighs in on decarbonization plan
The City Council members viewed the five-year decarbonization plan favorably, describing it as a pragmatic approach to reducing carbon emissions in the near term.
“We were able to take a broader view when the federal administration wasn’t changing so many of the policies, but that’s not the case right now,” Council member Pat Showalter said. “We just need to move forward with what we can control.”
The plan is grouped into five categories, with the bulk of the action items focused on buildings and transportation. Some of these include expanding access to electric vehicle charging for multifamily buildings, exploring the implementation of reach codes for commercial buildings that go beyond state energy standards and advocating for policies and funding that advance sustainability goals.
The items are meant to be a menu of possibilities, Lee said, stressing a need for flexibility with changing federal and state regulations.
“We do have kind of an overly exhaustive list because the policy landscape is moving so quickly,” she said.
While Council members expressed support for the plan, Lucas Ramirez raised concerns about a general lack of political will to make hard decisions to combat climate change. He noted that people often oppose prohibiting the use of natural gas or putting in more restrictive parking standards to discourage vehicle use. However, he added that it didn’t mean the city shouldn’t try to implement the decarbonization plan.
“I hope that we do the right thing when those decisions come to us,” Ramirez said. “I’m not confident that we will but while I’m here, I will do whatever I can to maximize our ability to respond locally in the way that we need to, if we’re serious about decarbonization.”
Federal and state policies will change soon. They have to or we are doomed. What does that mean for MV? Forget the goal setting and focus on what can be done now and reevaluate every year. One example; mandating homes be upgraded to 200A service when PV is installed makes no sense. PV works just fine with a 100A or even old 60A service. Another; how can we add 120V (Level1) chargers throughout the city? They are inexpensive to install. Find carrot and stick solutions.