Budget cuts threaten climate-resilient housing projects

OPINION – Amparo Vigil and her family have been in their four-unit home in the Mission District long enough to witness the tech boom drastically transform their community. Family-owned grocery stores, taquerias, and fruit markets are gone, replaced with trendy coffee shops, wine bars, and restaurants.

When Amparo’s father purchased the home in the 1970s, the block’s century-old Victorian houses were bustling with musicians, artists, and immigrant families. He loved the vibrant community and felt a responsibility to nurture and sustain it—values he passed on to Amparo and her siblings, along with the home he worked hard to acquire.

Now a grandmother herself, Amparo remains inspired by her father’s legacy of community stewardship. It drove her to seek ways to make her property an agent of positive change for communities of color.

In my role directing PODER SF, I partnered with Amparo and Emerald Cities Collaborative Northern California, a group advancing economic inclusion while greening cities, on a project to upgrade all four units in Amparo’s home with highly-efficient electric equipment for heating and cooking, along with insulation to cut overall energy use.

The electric retrofit projects we are partnering on serve a three-fold purpose: reducing the planet-warming pollution fueling more extreme weather, creating climate-resilient and healthy housing, and providing a model for electrifying homes while protecting tenants from high costs and displacement.

However, the funding needed for this transformative work is at risk. Governor Newsom has proposed slashing close to half of California’s Equitable Building Decarbonization program’s budget, which upgrades low-income households with efficient electric systems, like heat pumps.

This funding is pivotal for addressing three of Newsom’s stated priorities: energy affordability, confronting climate change and improving housing access. In tough budget times, defending this program must be a top priority for state leaders.

Our Bryant Street project, which includes Amparo’s home, demonstrates what’s possible. Once complete, all four units in her building will have highly efficient cooling that keeps residents safe during the intensifying heat waves now impacting even temperate San Francisco.

The heat pumps also filter harmful air pollution — a necessity after recent wildfires blanketed the Bay Area in hazardous smoke for weeks. With climate change worsening the risk of indoor air smoke, proactive investments in cleaner indoor air are vital.

As energy costs soar, installing electric heat pumps and combining them with high-quality insulation reduces household energy burdens, making utility bills more affordable. Equitable Building Decarbonization funding enables comprehensive retrofits that lower long-term utility costs for vulnerable communities.

Crucially, our project models how electrification can advance housing justice across California. In rapidly gentrifying communities like the Mission District, protecting tenants from displacement is paramount. Our goal is to ensure participants can stay in their homes and benefit from healthier, more affordable housing.

California is leading on equitable decarbonization that uplifts vulnerable communities instead of imposing new burdens on them. Gutting our state’s visionary program would undermine our climate commitments and housing equity goals. We urge leaders to increase funding for building upgrades that create sustainable homes accessible to all Californians—that is the true path to an equitable, climate-safe future for everyone.

Antonio Díaz is the organizational director of PODER SF.