Climate Forward SLC
Salt Lake City is working to create a clean, green, affordable, and resilient community where people and nature can thrive.
As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, we are facing increasing pressure on our water supply, infrastructure, and natural environment —and that makes thoughtful, long-term planning more important than ever.
In 2025-2026 we are updating our climate strategy. The updated plan—Climate Forward SLC—will guide the City’s climate actions over the next decade. We are collaborating with City departments, local experts, and other stakeholders to design an ambitious long-term strategy that further integrates climate goals into the City’s work.
As Salt Lake City prepares to host the 2034 Winter Olympics, Climate Forward SLC offers a timely opportunity to clean our air, strengthen our environmental and community resilience, and demonstrate our leadership on the global stage.
With rapidly advancing clean technologies and a strong local economy, now is the time for coordinated, sustained climate action.
From July to November 2025, we surveyed the community to help understand their climate concerns and priorities. Thank you to everyone who shared their input!
More opportunities to provide feedback will be available before the Plan is finalized and adopted.
Why Climate Action
The climate in Salt Lake City – like the entire Mountain West – is getting warmer and drier.
- Over the last 50 years, Utah has warmed at nearly twice the global average.
- Our region is one of the hottest urban heat islands in the country, and the city’s Westside feels it most because of abundance of heat-absorbing surfaces and limited vegetation.
- Heat intensifies drought which contributes to the drying Great Salt Lake and more dust from exposed lakebeds and dryer soils.
- Wildfires are becoming more frequent and we are increasingly exposed to wildfire smoke.
- Warmer air also holds more moisture, which can lead to short, intense rainstorms and flooding.
These challenges affect our families, our economy, and our long-term well-being. And the effects are even more pronounced in low-income neighborhoods, where communities are especially vulnerable.
Why this Matters
Taking climate action makes Salt Lake City healthier, more affordable, and more comfortable to live in.
- Using less fossil fuel and switching to cleaner energy—like wind, solar, and efficient electric technologies—reduces both greenhouse gases and harmful air pollution.
- Making buildings more energy efficient saves residents money.
- Safer, more reliable options for walking, biking, and public transit make it easier to get around, stay active, and spend less on transportation.
- More trees and accessible green spaces help cool neighborhoods and improve quality of life.
Salt Lake City has already made major progress since 2016, when the City adopted its goals of net-100% clean energy by 2032 (later updated to 2030) and an 80% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2040 through two joint Mayor-Council resolutions. We are now focusing on the critical steps we need to take in the next decade to meet those goals and keep our community thriving.
What We’re Doing
Climate Forward SLC will guide the City’s short- and long-term priorities across key areas such as energy, buildings, transportation, waste, and municipal operations. It will focus on actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, as well as identify ways to strengthen community health in a hotter, drier climate by supporting food system resiliency, water resources, and access to green spaces. In addition, the plan will prioritize climate actions that can support affordable living and a strong local economy with good jobs and a well-trained workforce.
The Climate Forward SLC planning effort will be guided by three overarching goals:
Reaffirm the City’s commitment to our 2040 Climate Goals
Align actions across City departments, community partners, and local initiatives to meet the goals of net-100% renewable electricity and an 80% reduction in emissions by 2040.
Prioritize Climate Strategies that are Scalable and Equitable
Focus on strategies that cut emissions, lower costs, create jobs, and build healthier, more resilient neighborhoods—ensuring these benefits reach the residents who need them most.
Identify Actionable Solutions and Fill Gaps
Develop actionable solutions that tie long-term climate targets with short-term decisions and budgets, while filling gaps in the City’s existing climate goals.
Looking Ahead: Our Timeline and Process
Community Engagement
Summer/Fall 2025
Existing Conditions Report
Winter/Spring 2026
Stakeholder Engagement and Prepare Plan
Spring/Summer 2026
Adoption Process
Fall/Winter 2026
What We’ve Done So Far:
Summer 2025
- Mayor Mendenhall launched the Climate Forward SLC plan.
- The City gathered input from community members and businesses.
Fall 2025
- City Council received a briefing on the plan.
- The City completed the first round of public engagement.
Winter 2025/Spring 2026
The “Climate Forward SLC Existing Conditions” report was developed, summarizing current and future climate and pollution challenges.
What Comes Next:
Summer 2026
- The City will finalize the plan’s proposed guiding principles, goals, metrics, and climate strategies.
- The City will gather additional stakeholder input to inform climate strategies.
Fall 2026 / Winter 2027
- The plan will be made available for public comment.
- The City will incorporate public comments and prepare the final plan.
- The final Climate Forward SLC plan will presented to the Planning Commission and City Council for potential adoption.
More Information
Learn more about the challenges we face and how these actions can help make our community healthier, more livable, and more resilient.
Get Involved
- The public survey has closed.
- The businesses survey has closed.
- Sign up for the SLCgreen Newsletter to be notified of future opportunities to provide input on Climate Forward SLC.
- Find other ways to get involved.
2016 Climate Plan Summary & Outcomes
The “Climate Positive 2040” roadmap was created to describe the high-level strategies the City was taking to achieve the climate reduction goals issued by a joint Mayor-Council resolution in 2016. These goals include:
- Net-100% renewable electricity by 2030 (updated from 2032 in a 2019 resolution)
- 80% reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (in comparison to a 2009 baseline), with a stepwise goal of 50% reduction by 2030
Since then the roadmap has supported the city’s work towards these goals, covering the topics of:
- Renewable Energy
- Clean Transportation
- Highly Efficient Buildings
- Air Quality
- Sustainable Food
- Zero Waste
“Climate Positive” also highlighted the importance of collaboration with regional and state partners, the City organization’s work to reduce its own emissions, and what was then the emerging topic of resilience. It also pointed to actions that SLC residents and businesses can take to help achieve these community goals.
Why We Are Updating the Plan
The City’s renewable energy and carbon reduction goals remain in place, but it’s important to re-visit the strategies to achieve them. It’s also time to focus on the critical steps we need to take in the next decade.
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From Plan To Action
Since the “Climate Positive 2040” roadmap we have achieved a lot! Our updated plan will help us continue to make progress in these projects and launch new initiatives.
- Forged a path to net-100% renewable electricity by 2030.
- Met our goal of 50% renewable electricity in city facilities by sourcing energy from Elektron Solar, a new solar farm in Tooele County.
- In its first 12 months, the Elektron Solar project saved an estimated $1.5 million on City electricity bills, reduced regional carbon pollution by over 120,000 metric tons, and avoided more than 2,500 pounds of criteria air pollution along the Wasatch Front!
- Helped grow our transit network to serve over 13.5 million riders a year.
Climate & Energy Resources
- Utah Clean Energy Hub for Efficiency, Clean Energy, and Electric Vehicles
- US Department of Energy: Job Growth in the Clean Energy Sector
- Clean Coalition: The Value of Clean Local Energy
- US Department of Energy: Energy Saver Guide: Tips on Saving Money and Energy at Home
- PlayCore: The Benefits of Greening Urban Neighborhoods
- UNICEF: Air Pollution
- American Lung Association: 10 Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air
- Utah Clean Air Partnership
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Indoor Air Quality